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PROVERBS,
CHIEFLY TAKEN FROM THE
. > .
ADAGIA OF ERASMUS,
WITH EXPLANATIONS;
.AX I) rURTIIEK ILLUSTRATED BY CORRESPONDING
EXAMPLES FROM THE
SPANISH, ITALIAN, FRENCH & ENGLISH
LANGUAGES.
i
BY ROBERT BLAND, M.D. F.S.A.
VOL. I.
LONDON :
PRINTED FOR T. EGERTON, MILITARY LIBRARY,
WHITEHALL.
1814.
London: Printed by C. RowortU,
Bell-yaru, Temple-bar^
Stack
TO
^ofo^ 3|
JAMES BINDLEY, ESQ. F. s. A.
COMMISSIONER OF STAMPS.
AS this Work is indebted to your revisal for
much of its correctness, permit me to present
to you, in its amended form, what you have
so indulgently supported when its imperfec-
tions were more numerous. Whether I con-
sider you as a friend, whom I most esteem,
or as a scholar best acquainted with this my
favourite subject, I feel equally happy in an
opportunity of thus publicly subscribing
myself
Your obliged
and obedient Servant,
ROBERT BLAND.
Leicester Square, London,
January 1st, 1814.
2028670 ,
PREFACE.
THE greater part of the Proverbs contained
in these volumes, are taken from the edition
of the Adaffia, published by Henry Stevens in
the year 1550, in folio; but in the explication
of them, it was found to be not unfrequently
expedient, to deviate from the plan followed,
and from the explanations given in that cele-
brated publication. The reason for this will
best appear, by giving a short history of that
work, and by relating some peculiarities in
the life of the author.
Erasmus, who contributed largely to the
restoration of letters in Europe, bestowed no
small portion of labour in collecting together,
and explaining the proverbs which he found
scattered in the early Greek and Roman
writers. The first edition of his collection
A 3 was
VI „ PREFACE.
was published at Paris, in the year 1500,
Erasmus being then thirty-three years of age.
As the work was received with avidity, it M'as
frequently reprinted in the life time of the
author, and each time with additions, until
the number of the proverbs exceeded four
thousand.
The credit the work then obtained, has
never been diminished ; it still stands unri-
valled, and has been the medium through
which the greater part of the adages have
been introduced into almost every country in
Europe. But though they have by this means
been introduced into this, and other countries,
and many of them so incorporated, as to be
in as frequent use, as those that arfe natives,
yet they are no where, as far as I know, ac-
companied with commentaries, or explanations,
similar to those given by Erasmus, although
such explanations seem necessary to make
them generally understood.
The brevity and conciseness of proverbs,
in which their excellence in a great measure
consists, renders them often obscure, and of
difficult comprehension, " Siquidem/' Eras-
mus
PREFACE. V
mus says, " Aclagia, ceu gemmul«, quod mi-
nuta sint, fallunt nonnunquam venantis ocu-
los, ni acrius intendas," the latent sense of
them, like small sparks of diamonds, not un-
frequently escaping the sight, if not diligently
sought for, and even when found, he goes on
to say, they are of themselves of little beauty,
or lustre, deriving the principal part of their
value from the manner of setting or using
them.
The method that seems to have been fol-
lowed by Erasmus, in making this collection,
was to note every adage he met with in the
course of his studies, and as the same sentence
occurred in different authors, to observe the
sense in which it was used by each of them.
He was hence enabled to enrich his work with
quotations from many of the earliest Greek
and Roman writers, and if not to refer each
of the adages to its original author, at the
least to name the earliest book in which it
occurred. Of these quotations, though many
of them are of exquisite beauty, and curiosity,
but a sparing use has been made in the present
collection, the places of them being more
A 4 usually
Vlll PREFACE.
usually supplied by passages from later writers.
Similar proverbs are also here frequently given
in the Spanish, Italian, French, and English
languages.
It has been before observed, that Erasmus
contributed largely to the revival of letters,
O «/ *
but- he was no less assisting in promoting the
reformation in religion, \vhich began in his
time. The influence the clergy had obtained
over the minds of the laity, had made them
rich and powerful, which producing their
usual effects, idleness and voluptuousness,
a very large portion of them had become
openly dissolute and profligate. Against these
vices, Erasmus was perpetually declaiming,
not sparing the higher orders in the church,
who were, perhaps, the first in vice, as in
dignity. In his humorous and satvrical de-
35 «. ~
clamation, Glorias Encomium, or the Praise
of Folly ; in his dialogues, and letters, and in
his prefaces to his editions of the Works of
the Fathers, he lets no opportunity pass, of
exposing and censuring the debaucheries and
crimes of the monks and the clergy. In the
work, the subject of the present dissertation,
wherever
PREFACE. IX
wherever the sense of the adage would bear it,
similar strictures are abundantly scattered.
By these censures so frequently passed on
the conduct of the clergy, the minds of the
people were prepared to receive the more
serious and heavy charges, preferred against
them by Luther, of having corrupted and
perverted the Scriptures. Hence it was cur-
rently said, " that Erasmus laid the egg, con-
taining the germ of the Reformation, and
Luther hatched it." This gave great offence,
and may be reckoned among the reasons why
though his works were universally read and
admired, and procured him the patronage of
persons of the highest rank, who were lavish
in their professions of friendship, and fre-
quently sent him presents, as testimonies of
their attachment, yet he could never obtain
from them such preferment, as would make
him independent. It must be confessed, as
he intimates in one of his letters to his friend
Barbirius, that he was of too open a dispo-
sition, and apt to give offence by speaking
too freely. " Et ut ingenue, quod verum est
tfitear," he says, "sum natura propensior ad
jocos,
X PREFACE.
jocos, quam fortasse deceat, et linguae libe-
rioris, quam nonnunquam expediat."
The enmity these strictures had excited,
remained long after his death, " and the di-
vines had influence enough with Pope Paul the
fourth," Jortin tells us, " to have the Book of
Adages condemned. But the Fathers of the
Council of Trent, taking into consideration
the usefulness of the work, ordered Paul us
Manutius to revise it, and strike out every
thing that was offensive." This garbled edi-
tion was printed at Florence, in 1575, without
the name of the author.* Fortunately, the
original work had been too often printed, and
was too generally disseminated to be by this
means suppressed.
With the censures, however, on the monks
and clergy, and with various other strictures,
alluding to circumstances which have long
ceased to exist, we have no concern. The
places of them are here supplied by reflections
and observations of a more general nature,
and better adapted to the present times.
* A copy of this edition was sold in the sale of the late
Duke of Roxborough's library, in May 1S12, lor .£1 -18-0.
Having
PREFACE. XI
Having given this account of the sources
whence the adages here treated are taken, it
may not be thought improper to add some
general observations on the nature of prover-
bial sentences. A proverb may be defined, a
short figurative expression or sentence, cur-
rently used, commending or reproving the
person or thing to which it is applied, and
often containing some moral precept, or rule,
for our conduct in life. Loose as this defini-
tion may appear to be, it is not sufficiently so
to embrace every form of speech that has been
admitted by Erasmus, and our countryman
Ray, as proverbs. A few examples may make
this more intelligible. A proverb frequently
consists with them in a simple comparison.
Of this kind are, '• As tall as the monument,"
"As swift as Achilles," "As crafty as Ulysses,"
" As cunning as a fox." All that is required in
forming this species of adage is, that the per-
son or thing used as a comparison be generally
known, or reputed ^to possess the property
attributed to it. Of another kind, as proceed-
ing from observations on the diversities in
the dispositions and tempers of men, are
" Quot
Xll PREFACE.
" Quot homines tot sentential," many men,
many minds. " Parva leves capiunt animos,"
" Light minds are pleased with trifles," and
" Suus cuique mos est." Each man has his
peculiarities or manners, by which, in fact,
they are not less distinguished from others,
than by their faces and figures. Of a higher
kind are those containing some moral precept,
or rule, for our conduct in life, as, "Feras non
culpes quod vitari non potest," what can't be
cured must be endured." " Homini ne fidas,
nisi cum quo modium salis absumpseris," trust
no man until you have eaten a peck of salt
with him ; that is, until you have known him
so long, that you might have eaten a peck of
salt with him. " Mus non fidit uni antro,''
the mouse does not trust to a single passage
by which it may escape, if attacked. No
man should engage all his property, or so
much as might materially injure him, if it
should be lost in one vessel, or on a single
project; "he should take care to have two
strings to his bow." These specimens may be
sufficient to shew the nature of proverbial
phrases, and in some degree, the kind of elu-
cidation here attempted.
As
PREFACE, Xllt
As the source whence the adages are taken
is shewn to be ample, it may be thought that
a much larger collection might have been
given than is here produced ; " At boni vena-
tons est plures feras capere, non omnes," a
good sportsman is not expected to take alt the
game he may start. It might not have been
difficult, perhaps, had that been thought ex-
pedient, to have considerably increased the
number ; but short as this collection may ap-
pear, there will be found in it, under various
heads, observations applying to all the ordi-
nary occurrences and situations in life; which
will be the more readily listened to, it may be
expected, as they contain the sentiments
transmitted clown to us from the earliest ages
of the most celebrated sages and philosophers.
Should it be urged, that many of the observa-
tions are such as would occur to every well
educated and sensible man, let those to whom
they are superfluous pass them over, they
were not written for them ; " those who are
well need not a physician, but those who are
sick :" yet even to them it may not be a matter
of total indifference to learn that so many of
the
XIV PREFACE.
the adages and forms of speech in daily use
among us are derived from the Grecians, and
that the origin of them may be traced back
CJ v
for two thousand and more years. But should
they reject them altogether, the work may
still have its utility : the young and inexpe-
rienced may find in it that information, which
those more advanced in life cannot, or ought
not, to want; it may lead them to consult the
books from which the quotations are taken,
many of them not commonly put into their
hands, and to pay more attention than is
usually done to the languages of modern
Europe, which will be equally pleasant and
bene6cial ; and from the present posture of
affairs, it may be expected that the countries
where they are spoken will be soon opened to
us : and though the mass of the people in
one of those countries have shewn themselves,
in the course of the dreadful revolution that
has taken place there, to be so frivolous, in-
significant, and mischievous as to promise
little advantage from mixing too intimately
with them, yet there are not wanting a suffi-
cient number of intelligent persons among
them
PREFACE. XV
them to make a communication with them
desirable. It may be hoped also that the
misery they have for so many years suffered,
may have the effect of producing an alteration
in their character. No symptom however of
such a change, it should be observed, has yet
appeared, notwithstanding the losses their
country has sustained and the degradation of
their ruler: a circumstance which should be
well noted here, and prove a caution to our
people from flocking over to that country,
should the door be again, for a short time,
opened, as they did on a former occasion, to
their own destruction and to the disgrace of
our national character. It should also, and
will, it may be expected, lead our people of
all ranks to have so much respect for them-
selves and regard for the honour of their
country, as to shew no slavish servility to.
their envoys and ambassadors, that we may
not again be insulted with the humiliating
spectacle of British subjects harnessed to the
chariot of aliens, and I doubt, I must say, of
enemies to the country. Had such a scene
been acted at Greece or Rome, the parties
would
PREFACE.
would never again have been acknowledged
as citizens ; they would have been banished,
perhaps sold as slaves, or even forfeited their
lives.
Thus far I have endeavoured to shew the
reader what he is to expect in these volumes;
it may not be so easy, perhaps, satisfactorily
to explain, why I have undertaken what seems
so alien to my profession ;
" Tantumne ab re tua est otii tibi,
Aliena ut cures, ea quae nihil ad te attinent ?;>
Have I so much leisure, it may be asked,
from my own employment, that I should en-
gage in a business which might so much more
properly be handled by those whose peculiar
duty it is to give lessons in morality ? and yet
this may not, on consideration, be deemed
totally averse to the business of the physi-
cian ; for as many diseases, almost all of the
chronic kind, are brought on and perpetuated
by irregularity of living and over indulgence
of our passions, should any persons on read-
ing what is here said on those subjects, con-
taining the opinions of the earliest and best
writers, be led to correct their vicious habits,
one
PREFACE. XVI
one source of those maladies would be cut off,
and they would become both less frequent
and less fatal.
It may not be improper, before concluding
this address, to apprise the reader, that a de-
sign of this kind was once in the contemplation
of Dr. Johnson, as appears by the list of works
he had proposed undertaking, given by Mr.
Boswell at the end of his life. In what man-
ner it would have been executed by him can-
not be conjectured, doubtless in a way supe-
rior to that in which it is treated here; and had
it been accomplished, it would have superseded
the present attempt : that a writer of his emi-
nence had even entertained the idea of
such a work, must be thought to give an ad-
ditional degree of credit to the design itself.
No attempt has been made, it will be ob-
served, to arrange the proverbs in classes, or
even to place them alphabetically. Their
number was found to be too inconsiderable
for classification ; and as an Index is given,
the reader will be enabled to find what he
looks for as readily as if they had been placed
in alphabetical order.
b
PROVERBS,
8$c. $c. #c.
Amicorum communia omnia.
AMONG friends all things should be in com-
mon. Erasmus thought he could not begin
his Collection better than with this apo-
thegm, which is of great antiquity, and much
celebrated, and for the same reason it is here
placed first. Nothing is so frequent in our
mouths, nor is any thing less common than
such a conjunction of minds as deserves the
name of Friendship. " When a friend asks,
there is no to-morrow," for he is another self.
" Ne ay major espejo, que el amigo viejo."
Like a glass he will discover to you your own
defects ; and " mas vale buen amigo, que
pariente primo," a good friend is better than
a near relation. A man, the Italians say,
without friends is like a body without a soul.
*/
" Chi si trova senz' amici, e come un corpo
senz' anima." The French, by a very delicate
B phrase, >
( 2 )
phrase, denominate friendship love that is
without wings, " L'amitie" est 1'amour sans
ailes," meaning that it should be a permanent
affection, and not easily to be obliterated.
" Ova d'un ora, pane d'un di, vino d'un
anno, amico di trenta," that is, eggs of an
hour, bread of a day, wine of a year, but a
friend of thirty years is best; and " Azeyte,
y vino, y amigo antiguo," oil, wine, and
friends improve by age. Friendship, Mon-
taigne says, " unlike to love, which is
weakened by fruition, grows up, thrives, and
increases by enjoyment; and being of itself
spiritual, the soul is reformed by the practice
of it." And according to Sallust, " Idem
velle et nolle, ea demum firma amicitia est,"
to have the same desires and dislikes, to love
or hate the same persons, is the surest test of
friendship. But instances of such exalted
friendship, if they do exist, are very rare.
" Tantum ego fucorum, tantum perfidiae in
hominum arnicitiis reperio, non in his modo
vulgaribus, verurn his quoque quas Pyladeas
vocant, ut mihi jam non libeat novarum peri-
culum facere" — I find so much dissembling,
says
( 3 )
says the good Erasmus, so much perfidy
among friends, not only those between whom
there subsists only a slight intimacy, but those
connected, as it would seem, by the strongest
ties of affection, that I have altogether given
up the search after such a phenomenon. The
same writer, at a more advanced stage of his
life, and as the result of long experience, says,
" Quin in totum, e6 degenerarunt hominum,
mores, ut hodie, cygnus niger, aut corvus al-
bus, minus rarus sit avis, quam fidelisamicus."
In short, men are become so degenerate, (a
complaint that has been made in every age,)
that a black swan, or a white crow, are not so
rarely to be met with as a faithful friend.
And another writer says, " We talk of friend-
ship as of a thing that is known, and as we
talk of ghosts — but who has seen either the one
or the other !" " Friendship," Lord Verulam
says, " easeth the heart and cleareth the un-
derstanding, making clear day in both; partly
by giving the purest counsel, apart from our
interest and prepossessions, and partly by al-
lowing opportunity to discourse; and by that
discourse to clear the mind, to recollect the
B 2 thoughts,
( 4 )
thoughts, to see how they look in words;
whereby men attain that highest wisdom,
which Dionysius, the Areopagite, saith ' is the
daughter of reflection.'" Spenser gives a beau-
tiful description of three kinds of affection, to
women, to our offspring, and to our friend,
and gives the preference to the latter.
' For natural affection soon doth cess.
And quenched is with Cupid's greater flame ;
But faithful friendship doth them both suppress,
And them with mastering discipline doth tame,
Through thoughts aspiring to eternal fame.
For as the soul doth rule the earthly mass,
And all the service of the body frame,
So love of soul doth love of body pass,
No less than purest gold surmounts the meanest brass."
Ne gustdris quibus nigra est Cauda.
It is not known who was the Author of
this enigmatical sentence, prohibiting to eat
what has a black tail ; that which is sweet to
the taste, but leaves a sense of bitterness when
swallowed. The interpretation seems to be,
hold no intimate connection with persons of
bad fame, nor do any thing of which you
may repent on reflection.
Ne
Ne cumis Dextram injeceris.
Offer not your hand to any one with whom
you may casually associate. This is in fact
only an extension of the sense of the first
apothegm, by which we were admonished
not lightly, or unadvisedly, to admit any one
to an intimacy, " for with your hand you
should give your heart." " Deligas enim
tantum quern diligas," you should chuse as
friends only such persons as are worthy of
your love, and when you have found such, as
Polonius advises his son Laertes,
" Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel,"
for " amicus est magis necessarius quam ignis
et aqua," a friend is more necessary to us than
fire and water, without which, we know, we
cannot even exist. From a want of making
O
this selection, and of being well acquainted
with the characters of the persons whom we
admit to this intimacy, arises the frequent
complaint of the perfidy of friends. " Qui
sibi amicus est, scito hunc amicum omnibus
esse," he who is a friend to himself is a friend
B 3 to
( 6 )
to every one to whom he professes to be so.
If tli is apothegm of Seneca should not be
admitted to its full extent, it will at the least
be allowed, that he who is not a friend to him-
self, should not be expected to be a friend to
any one besides. For how should a man be
a friend to strangers, who neglects what is
necessary for the comfortable subsistence of
himself and family ? In short, to be a friend
it is necessary that a man should shew him-
self to be a reasonable and a good moral man,
fulfilling his duty to God, to his country, and
to himself. Such a man, to adopt the lan-
guage of Montaigne, " is truly of the cabinet
council of the Muses, and has attajned to the
height of human wisdom." If these rules in
the choice of our friends be followed, few per-
sons will have reason to complain of their
faithlessness. If it should be said that such
characters are rare, it then follows, that there
are but few persons with whom we should
enter into that close intimacy which is desig-
nated by the term friendship.
Cor
( 7 )
Cor ne edito.
Let not care corrode and gnaw your heart,
lest you should fall into a state of despon-
dency, and to avenge some disappointment or
trouble, throw away all the blessings you en-
joy, and with them your life. To this pur-
port the Psalmist, " Fret not thyself, lest thou
be moved to do evil." " Por mucho madru-
gar, no aman6ce mas aina." The Spaniards
say, early rising makes it not day the sooner,
or too much anxiety and care will not enable
you the sooner to obtain your point; and the
Italians, " cento carre di pensieri, non paga-
ranno un' oncia di debito," an hundred cart-
loads of care will not pay an ounce of debt.
" Cura facit canos," care brings gray hairs,
and " care," we say, " killed the cat." But
who is without care, or can escape its fangs !
" Man that is born of a woman is of short con-
tinuance, and full of trouble; all his days are
sorrow, and his travels grief, his heart also
taketh not rest in the night." And " you
may as soon," Burton says, " separate weight
from lead, heat from fire, moistness from wa-
B 4 ter,
( 8 )
ter, and brightness from the sun, as misery,
discontent, care, calamity, and danger from
man." Such being the state of man, and as
we are assured, " that it is as natural for him
to suffer, as for sparks to fly upwards," we
should bear our afflictions with patience, by
which alone the heaviest of them will be in
some degree softened, and appeased. " Si
gravis brevis, si longus levis." If the pain be
very severe, it cannot last ; if it be moderate
and of longer duration, it may be borne.
" Nullum est malum majus, quam non posse
ferre malum,'' no greater misfortune can
happen to us, than not to be able to bear
misfortune.
Ignem ne Gladio fodito.
Do not stir the fire with a sword, do not
irritate an angry person; rather endeavour to
sooth and appease him, and take some more
convenient opportunity for reproof. When
no longer under the influence of passion, he
may hear and be benefited by your remon-
Strances.
A Fabis
( 9 )
A Fabis abstineto.
Abstain from beans, was an admonition of
Pythagoras to his followers; meaning by that
to exhort them not to interfere in the election
of magistrates, in which, it should seem, there
was the same heat and contention, the same
violence and confusion as too often occur
among us, when persons are elected to places
of honour, or profit. The electors among the
Athenians were used to poll, or give their
suffrages, by putting beans, instead of white
or black stones as on other occasions, into a
vase placed for the purpose. Pythagoras also
admonishes, " when the wind rises, to worship
the echo," that is in times of tumult and dis-
sension, to retire into the country, the seat of
the echo.
Arctum Aniilum ne gestato.
Do not wear a ring, or a shoe, we say, that
is too tight, which may impede you in walk-
ing, or in any other actions. Metaphorically,
do not by imprudence waste your property,
and
and contract debts, which will lead to the loss
of your liberty; neither pay so much defe-
rence to the opinions of others, as to embrace
them implicitly, without first submitting them
to a careful examination. Persons who are
so tractable are said " to be led by the nose,"
and of such, artful men do not fail to take
advantage. Also, be not ready to bind your-
selves by vows, or oaths, to do, or to refrain
from any act If the thing be proper in it-
self, you will have sufficient incentive to do
it, without laying such obligations or restric-
tions upon yourself; the necessity for which
can only arise from imbecility, or inconstancy
of mind, which you should rather endeavour
to cure than to indulge.
Tollenti Onus auxiliare, de.ponenti mquaquam.
Assist those who are willing to receive in-
struction, and aid those who endeavour, but
have not strength, to bear the load that is im-
posed on them. First put thy shoulder to the
wheel, and should thy utmost exertions prove
inef-
( 11 )
ineffectual, then call upon the Gods, and they
will help thee.
" But they 're not wishings, or base womanish prayers
Can draw their aid, but vigilance, counsel, action,
Which they will be ashamed to forsake.
Tis sloth they hate, and cowardice."
" A quien madruga, Dios le ayoucla," the
Spaniards say, God assists those who rise early
in the morning, that is, those who are indus-
trious ; and the French to the same purport,
" Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera," help yourself and
God will help you. " Industry," we say, " is
Fortune's right hand, and frugality her left."
Qua uncis sunt un^uibus ne nutrias.
Q
Do not feed, or take under your roof ani-
mals of ferocious and savage dispositions, that
have sharp and crooked claws. Do not che-
rish a snake in your hosom, or enter into
friendship with crafty and deceitful persons.
" Otez un vilain du gibet, il vou's y mettra,"
save a thief from the gallows, and he will cut
your throat. " Cria el cuervo, y sacarte ha
Jos ojos," breed up a crow and he will tear out
your
your eyes. Ingratitude and the unyielding
bent of nature were typified by the Greeks
under the elegant representation of a goat
giving suck to the whelp of a wolf, with a
subscription, which has been thus rendered.
" A wolf reluctant with my milk I feed,
Obedient to a cruel master's will;
By him I nourish'd, soon condemned to bleed,
For stubborn nature will be nature still."
We may add two familiar lines to these,
" The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long,
That she had her head bit off by her young."
Cibum in Matellam ne immittas.
*
" Cast not the children's provision to the
dogs." Talk not on moral or religious sub-
jects before persons of loose manners, who
are disposed to ridicule every thing that is
grave and serious; neither enter into araru-
, ' , . °.
ments with persons who are obstinate, or ig-
norant; who are either incapable of under-
standing, or predetermined not to adopt what
you advise.
Ad
( 13 )
Ad Finem ubi perveneris, ne veils reverti.
When you have nearly completed any bu-
siness in which you are engaged, do not
through weariness, or inconstancy, leave it
unfinished, but persist to the end ; else all the
time, labour, and expense that have been be-
stowed upon the work, will be lost, and you
will lose your character likewise ; or when
you perceive yourself about to die, with pa-
tience and courage submit to your fate, and
do not weakly and foolishly wish for an ex-
tension of your life, in the vain hope that you
should live more rationally. " Hell," we say,
" is full of good meanings and wishes."
" O mihi praeteritos referat, si Jupiter annos !"
You knew that the term of your life was un-
certain, and should long since have entered
on the course you now propose to beg-in, but
which, if the opportunity were given, you
would probably neglect as heretofore.
Adversus
Adversus solem ne loquitor.
Arguing against what is clear and self-evi-
dent, is the same as denying that the sun
shines at mid-clay.
Hirundinem sub eodem tecto ne habeas.
Take not a swallow under your roof, he
only pays his visit in the spring, but when
winter, the time of difficulty and hardships,
approaches, he is gone. Entertain no one as
a friend who seeks only his own advantage by
the intimacy he solicits. The proverb is also
supposed to intimate that we should not ad-
mit chatterers to a familiarity with us, who
will be sure to divulge whatsoever they may see
or hear in our houses. " Percontatorem fugito,
nam garrulus idem est." The swallow only
comes, it is said, for his own purpose, and
having produced and brought up its young,
leaves us, without making any beneficial re-
turn for the entertainment it has received.
Though it is probable that by devouring my-
riads of insects, which would have destroyed
our
( 15 )
our fruit, they pay us abundantly for the sub-
sistence afforded them.
In Anulo Deifguram nc gestato.
Do not wear the figure or image of the
Deity in a ring: that is, do not introduce the
name of the Deity in your frivolous and idle
conversation, or call upon him to attest the
truth of any assertions, except such as are of
a grave and serious nature; still less make it
the subject of your senseless and impertinent
oaths.
Non bene imperat, nisi qui paruerit imperio.
Men are rarely fit to command, who have
not been accustomed to obey. Children
brought up too indulgently neither become
agreeable companions, nor good masters. Ac-
customed to find every one bending to their
humours, and to have all their wishes grati-
fied, they are ill qualified to mix with the
world, and to encounter the thousand cross
acci-
accidents, which every one, whatever may be
their rank, will be sure to meet with. Every
opposition to their will irritates, and every
accident appals them. One of the strongest
arguments in favour of our public schools is,
that boys must there obey, before they are
allowed to command. The proverb also in-
timates, that no one is fit to govern others,
who has not obtained a command over his
own passions and affections.
Inter Malleum et Incudem.
I am between the hammer and .the anvil,
I am so surrounded with evils, that I see no
way of escaping, may be said by any one who
has so involved and entangled himself in a
business, that he must be a loser, whether he
goes on or retreats.
Res in Car dine est.
The business is on the hinge : it is in that
state that it must now, one way or the other,
be
( 17 )
be soon terminated, alluding to a door, which,
hanging on its hinges, may be shut or opened
by a very slight impulse. We also say the
business hinges (turns) on such a circum-
stance ; if that be made out, it will end suc-
cessfully, if not it will fail.
Res indicabit.
It will be shewn by the event: we shall
thence learn whether what has been stated be
the real truth.
Novacula in Cot em.
" He has met with his match ;" the person
he attacked has proved too strong for him,
and " he is come off second best," as the
razor, instead of injuring the stone, was itself
destroyed.
" et fragili quaerens illidere dentem,
Offendet solido."
Or as the viper, who, attempting to gnaw a
file which he had found, wounded his own
mouth, but left the file unhurt.
c Sero
( is ;
Sero sapiunt Phryges.
The Trojans became wise too late ; they
only came to their senses, when their city was
on the eve of being taken. Exhausted by a
war of ten years, they then began to consult
about restoring Helen, on whose account the
contest had been undertaken. The adage is
applied to persons, who do not see the advan-
tage of any measure or precaution until it is
too late to adopt it, and is similar to, " when
the steed is stolen, we shut the stable door,"
and to the following of the Italians, and the
French, " Serrar la stalla quando s' ban per-
duti i buovi." "II est terns de fermer 1'^table
quand les chevaux en sont alleV'
Malo accepto stultus sapit.
" Experience is the mistress of fools," and
"the burnt child," M'e say, "dreads the fire."
Some men are only to be made cautious by
their own experience, they must suffer before
they will be wary.
- Piscator
( 19 )
Piscator ictus sapiet.
A fisherman, putting his hand hastily into
his net, M'as wounded by the thorns on the
backs of some of the fish; being thus caught,
he said, I shall now become wiser : which is
said to have given rise to the adage. "Bought
wit," we say, "is best;" it will certainly be more
likely to be remembered, than that which is
obtained without suffering some kind of loss
or inconvenience. Hence also we say, " wit
once bought, is worth twice taught." "El
hombre mancebo, perdiendo gana seso," by
losses and disappointment young men acquire
knowledge.
Manus manumfricat.
" Una mano lava la otra." " One good
turn deserves another." But this phrase is
more commonly applied where two persons
bespatter each other with fulsome and un-
deserved compliments. " Scratch my breech,
and I will claw your elbow."
Ne sus Minervam.
Persons pretending to instruct those who
are qualified to be their masters, or to inform
c 2 others
( 20 )
others in matters of which they are themselves
ignorant, fall under the censure of this adage;
their conduct being as ridiculous as would be
that of a sow who should presume to attempt
to teach wisdom. Our clowns, not very de-
licately, tell you, " not to teach your gran-
dames to suck eggs," for, " a bove majori
discit arare minor," the young ox learns to
plow from the elder, not the elder from the
young, and "El Diablo saba mucho," the
Spaniards say, "porque es viejo," the devil
knows a great deal, for he is old.
Irwitd Minervd-
Cutting against the grain. When any one
attempts what he is totally unqualified for, he
may be said to be labouring without the
assistance of Minerva, the reputed goddess
of wisdom, " natura repugnante, " against
nature. " Quam quisque ndrit artem, in hac
se exerceat," let every one confine himself to
the art in which he has been instructed, or
which he has particularly studied. "In
casa del Moro no babies Algaravia." Do not
speak
( 21 )
speak Arabic in the house of a Moor, lest,
instead of gaining credit, you only expose
your ignorance.
Ne Sutor ultra crepidam.
"The shoemaker should not go beyond his
last." Men should not attempt what they
are neither by education nor genius qualified
to perform, nor discourse on matters they do
not understand; they will be listened to with
no more attention than would be given to a
blind man discoursing on colours. " Cada
qual liable* en lo que sabe," let every one
talk of what he understands. A shoemaker
having suggested to Apelles an error in the
form of a shoe he had painted, the artist,
readily taking the hint, altered the picture in
that part. But when the same shoemaker was
proceeding to recommend alterations in the
form and disposition of the limbs of the figure,
he received the rebuke, \vhich thence be-
came proverbial, "The shoemaker should not
meddle beyond his last. " " Defienda me
Dios de my." God defend me from myself,
c 3 the
( 22 )
the Spaniards say, make me to know what is
my proper state and condition.
Par Pari referre.
"Tal por tal," like for like, or "One
good turn deserves another." If this has
in all ages been esteemed a duty, in our
commerce with persons who are indifferent
to us, we are in a particular manner called
upon to observe it, in our conduct to our
parents, and to make the best return in
our power, for their care in nourishing and
supporting us in our infancy ; for imbuing
our minds with good principles; for cultivat-
ing and improving our understandings, and
thereby enabling us to support ourselves in a
mature age, and to fill with credit that rank,
or situation in life, in which we .may happen
to be placed. The vine dresser, whom King
Henry the Fourth of France is said to have
met with in his rambles, seems to have un-
derstood and practised this duty, in a me-
ritorious manner. " Having said, lie earned
forty sous a day, the king demanded in what
manner he disposed of the money. He
divided
( 23 )
divided his earnings, he told the monarch,
into four parts. With the first he nourished
himself; with the second he paid his debts;
the third he laid out at interest, and the
fourth he threw away. This not being in-
telligible, the king desired an explanation.
You observe, Sir, says the man, that I begin
with applying the first part to my own main-
tenance, with the second I support my parents
who nourished me, when I was incapable of
supporting myself, and so pay my debt of
gratitude; with the third I maintain my
children, who may at some future time be
called upon to return the like service to me ;
this part therefore is laid out at interest ;
the fourth is paid in taxes, which, though
intended for the service of the king, is prin-
cipally swallowed up by the collectors, and
therefore may be said to be thrown away."
Something similar to the reasoning of this
good man, is contained in the following enig-
matical epitaph, which was inscribed on the
tombstone of Robert of Doncaster.
" What I gave, that I have ;
What I spent, that I had ;
What I left, that I lost."
c 4 By
( 24 )
By prudence in the distribution of his
benevolence, by giving only to good and
deserving persons, he procured to himself
friends, on whose advice and assistance he
might depend, whenever occasion should re-
quire it ; and by expending only what he
could conveniently spare, and laying it out
on such things as administered to his comfort,
he enjoyed, and therefore had what he ex-
pended; but what he left, not being enjoyed
by himself, nor going, perhaps, to persons of
his choice, or being used in the manner he
would have preferred, that portion might be
truly said to be lost.
In Vado esse. In Portu navigare.
The ship has escaped the threatened danger
and is arrived safely in port. The adage is
applied to any one who has overcome some
difficulty, with which he had been oppressed,
and from which there seemed little chance of
his being able to escape.
\
Toto
( 25 )
Toto Ccelo errare.
" To shoot beyond the mark," to be entirely
out in our conjecture, or opinion, on any
business; to mistake the meaning of any
passage in a work, or of what had been said,
were typified by the ancients, by this and
similar phrases, meaning, You are as far from
the right, as the east is from the west.
Turdus ipse sibi malum cacat.
" The Thrush when he defiles the bough,
Sows for himself the seeds of woe."
Men of over communicative dispositions,
who divulge what may by their adversaries
be turned to their disadvantage, may be com-
pared to the thrush, who is said to sow, with
his excrements, the seeds of the misletoe on
which it feeds. From the bark of the misletoe
bird-lime is made, with which the thrush, as
well as other birds, are not unfrequently taken.
The eagle that had been shot, was doubly dis-
tressed on discerning that the arrow which
inflicted the wound, was winged with a feather
of his own.
( 26 )
Suojumento malum accersere.
He hath brought this mischief upon himself.
"He hath pulled an old house about his ears."
Why would he interfere in a business in which
he had no concern ? He should have remem-
bered that, " He that meddleth with strife
that doth not belong to him, is like one that
taketh a mad dog by the ear."
Comix Scorpium rapuit.
The crow seizing on a scorpion, and think-
ing he had got a delicate morsel, was stung to
death. The adage is applicable to persons,
who, meditating mischief to others, find the
evil recoil upon themselves with redoubled
force.
Irritare Crabones.
" You have brought a nest of hornets about
your ears," may be applied to persons who
have engaged in dispute with men of greater
rank or power than themselves ; or who have
undertaken any business beyond their ability
to execute, and from which they cannot ex-
tricate
( 27 )
tricate themselves without loss. To the same
purport is
Leonem stimulas.
Why awake the lion who may tear you in
pieces ? and the following
Malum bene conditum ne moveris.
When you have escaped an injury, or when
any dispute or contest in which you were en-
gaged is compromised, and settled, do nothing
that may revive it, you may not come off a
second time so well. " Non destare il can
che dorme," the Italians say, do not wake a
sleeping dog. And the French,
" N'as tu pas tort, de reveiller le chat qui
dort?" were you not wrong to wake the cat
that was sleeping? or, " Quando la mala ven-
tura se duerme, nadie la despierte," when
sorrow is asleep, do not wake it."
Bonis, vel mails Avibus.
With good or evil omens. You began the
business under favourable, or unfavourable
auspices, or under a fortunate or unfortunate
star. The Greeks and Romans frequently
formed
( 28 )
formed their opinion of the success of any
enterprize in which they were about to engage,
from the flight, or from the chattering, or
singing of birds. The Augur, whose office it
was to expound to the people the meaning of
the omens, is supposed to have derived the
name, or title of the office, from avis gar-
ritus, the chattering of birds. Our country-
man, Churchill, has ridiculed this superstition
with much humour.
" Among the Romans not a bird,
Without a prophecy was heajrd ;
Fortunes of empires ofitimes hung
On the magician magpye's tongue,
And every crow was to the state,
A sure interpreter of fate.
Prophets embodied in a college,
(Time out of mind your seats of knowledge,)
Infallible accounts would keep,
When it was best to watch or sleep,
To eat, or drink, to go, or stay,
And when to fight, or run away,
When matters were for action ripe,
By l&oking at a double tripe;
When emperors would live or die,
They in an asses skull could spy;
When generals would their stations keep,
Orturn their backs in hearts of sheep." — THEGHOST.
Some
( 29 ;
Some vestiges of this superstition are still
to be found in this country, and many of our
fanners' wives would be disconcerted at hear-
ing the croaking of a raven, at the moment
they were setting out on a journey, whether
of business, or of pleasure. The following
lines from Walker's Epictetus are introduced,
to shew that though the vulgar, in the early
ages, might believe in these fooleries, yet there
were not wanting then, as well as now, persons
who were able to ridicule and despise them.
*' The direful raven's, or the night owl's voice,
Frightens the neighbourhood with boding noise -r
While each believes the knowing bird portends
Sure death, or to himself, or friends ;
Though all that the nocturnal prophet knows,
Is want of food, which he by whooting shews."
Epictetus is supposed to have lived in the
time of the Emperor Nero, more than 1700
years ago.
Noctua volavit.
An owl flew by us, it is a fortunate omen,
our project will succeed, or we shall hear
good news from our friends. The raven, on
the
( 30 )
the contrary, was considered as a bird of ill
omen, and its appearance was supposed to
predict evil.
" That raven on yon left hand oak,
Curse on his ill foreboding croak,
Bodes me no good."
The owl was in a particular manner reve-
renced by the Athenians, as it was the favoured
bird of Minerva, their patroness. When Pe-
ricles was haranguing his men on board one
of his vessels, who had mutinied, an owl, flying
by on the right hand, is said to have settled
on the mast of the ship, .and the men observ-
ing the omen were immediately pacified, and
came into his opinion.
The phrase, noctua volavit, was also some-
times used to intimate that any advantage
obtained was procured by bribery, by giving
money on which the figure of an owl was
impressed, such coin being common among
the Athenians.
Quartd Luna nati.
Born in the fourth moon. Persons who
were peculiarly unfortunate, scarcely any
thing
( 31 )
thing succeeding to their minds, were said to
be born in the fourth moon, that being the
month in which Hercules was born, whose
labours, though beneficial to the world, were
productive of little advantage to himself.
The Spaniards say, " En hora mala nace,
quien mala fama cobra," he was born under
an unlucky planet, or in an evil hour, who
gets an ill name. The contrary to this, but
equally the child of superstition, is
Alba GalllncE Films.
" Hijo de la Gallina blanca."
Born of a white hen. This was said of
persons who were extremely fortunate; who
were successful in whatever they undertook;
" who were born," as we say, " with a silver
spoon in their mouth." The following is
related by Suetonius, as giving origin to this
adage. When Livia, the wife of Augustus
Cssar, was at one of her country seats, an
eagle flying over the place, dropped a white
hen, holding a sprig of laurel in its beak, into
her lap. The empress was so pleased with the
adventure, that she ordered the hen to be
taken care of, and the laurel to be set in the
garden-
( 32 )
garden. The hen, we are told, proved un-
usually prolific, and the laurel was equally
thrifty ; and as there was thought to be some-
thing supernatural in its preservation, branches
from it continued long to be used by succeed-
ing emperors, in their triumphs. " En hora
buena nace, quien buena fama cobra." He
that gets a good name, was born under a
fortunate planet, or in a lucky hour.
Laureum baculum gesto.
I am always armed with a sprig of laurel,
was said by persons who had unexpectedly
escaped from any threatened danger. The
laurel was thought by the ancients to be an
antidote against poison, and to afford security
against lightning. On account of these sup-
posed properties, Tiberius Ceesar is said to
have constantly worn a branch of laurel
around his head. Laurel water was prescribed
by the ancient physicians, in the cure of those
fits to which children are subjected. It was,
therefore, until within a very few years, always
found in the shops of the apothecaries. Later
experience
< 33 )
experience has shewn, that the distilled water
of the laurel leaf, when strongly impregnated,
is a powerful and deadly poison. It was with
this preparation that Captain Donellan killed
Sir Theodosius Baughton. The opinion of
the power of the laurel in preserving against
lightning, rests on no better foundation than
that of its efficacy in preventing the effects of
poison, or in curing epilepsy.
A horse-shoe nailed on the threshold of the
door, was supposed by the common people in
this country, to preserve the house from the
effects of witchcraft, and it is still in repute
among our sailors, who nail a horse-shoe to
the mast, with a view of preserving the vessel
from such evil influence.
Fcsnum habet in Cornu, longefuge.
Fly from that man, he has hay on his horns.
This is said of persons of morose, quarrelsome,
and malevolent dispositions, with whom it is
dangerous to associate; alluding to the custom
of fixing whisps of hay to the horns of vicious
oxen. " Hie est niger, hunc tu, Romane, ca-
D veto.'"
( 34 )
veto." This is a dangerous fellow, beware of
him.
Polypi mentem obtine.
Imitate the polypus. Change your plan
of living according to circumstances, accom-
modate yourself to the dispositions of the
persons with whom you are to live, or to form
any intimate connection. " Become all things
to all men." Brutus, that he might escape the
malignancy of Tarquin, who had destroyed his
father, and his brother, assumed the character
of idiotcy, whence he obtained his name. His
stratagem succeeded, no mischief being to be
apprehended, as Tarquin supposed, from so
degraded a being. He was therefore suffered
to live, and in time became principally instru-
mental in freeing his country from the tyranny
of the Tarquins, and in laying the foundation
of a popular form of government, which con-
tinued upwards of 700 years. The proverb
took its rise from a supposed power of the
polypus of assuming the colour of any sub-
stance to which it adheres. When pursued
it
( 35 )
it clings to the rocks, and taking the same
colour, often escapes unnoticed.
Multaz Regum Aures atque. Oculi.
"An nescis longas Regibus esse Manus ?"
" Kings," we say, " have long arms," they
have also many eyes and ears, that is, they use
the ministry of their many servants and de-
pendents, hoth to discover what is done that
may be prejudicial to their interest, and to
punish the delinquents, whose crimes may hy
these means have been detected, though seated
at the extremities of their dominions. Hence
we say, by way of caution, to persons speak-
ing too freely, on subjects that may give
offence, do you not know that " Les murs ont
des oreilles?" "Walls have ears." This senti-
ment is beautifully expressed in the Eccle-
siastes — " Curse not the king, no not in thy
thought, and curse not the rich, in thy bed-
chamber, for a bird of the air shall carry thy
voice, and that which hath wings, shall tell
the matter."
The number of spies and emissaries em-
ployed by Midas, king of Phrygia, who was a
D 2 cruel
( 36 )
cruel tyrant, gave occasion to the fable of
that prince's having asses ears. Antoninus
Caracalla, a monster in wickedness, and
therefore full of suspicion, not only was
frequent in his application to augurs, and
soothsayers, in the hope that by their means
he might discover whether any designs were
hatching against his life, but he made it a
serious complaint against Providence, that he
was not endowed with the faculty of hearing
with his own ears, whatever was said of him :
so impotent is the influence of wealth or
£minence, in imparting happiness to the pos-
sessor, unless, like Titus, he employs them in
cliff using blessings among the people. " Paredes
tienen oyclos," et "Tras pared, ni tras seto no
digas tu secreto." — Walls haVe ears, and behind
a wall or a hedge do not tell a secret.
Malo N~odo mains qu&re.ndus Cuneus.
A tough and harsh knot, is not to be at-
tempted to be cut by a fine tool ; it can only
be overcome by the application of a strong
wedge. Great difficulties or diseases are not
ordinarily subdued, but by powerful remedies,
which
( 37 )
which may not be applied, perhaps, without
some degree of clanger. The adage also in-
timates, that in repelling injuries, we may use
weapons, or means, similar to those with which
we have been attacked. Craft and cunning
may therefore be properly had recourse to, in
opposing the machinations of the malevolent,
and unjust. A horse perceiving that a lion
was endeavouring by pretending to be skilful
in medicine to entice him into his power, in
order to destroy him, asked him to look at a
swelling which he affected to have in his foot,
and the lion preparing to examine the part,
the horse gave him so violent a stroke with
his heels, as laid him sprawling on the ground-
The adage also means, that a lesser evil is
sometimes obliterated by a greater, and one
passion or affection of the rnind by another.
" Even as one heat another heat expels,
Or as one nail by strength drives out another,
So the remembrance of my former love,
Is by another object quite forgotten."
Oleum Camino addere.
" Jetter de 1'huile sur le feu," to add fuel
to the fire; irritating instead of appeasing the
D 3 enraged
( 38 )
enraged passions. Giving wine to young
persons, whose blood is ordinarily too hot, is
"adding fuel to the fire."
Ululas Athenas portas.
The owl was a favoured bird among the
Athenians, and so abounded, that sending
owls to Athens, was like " carrying water to
the sea," or, "coals to Newcastle." It was,
according to the Spanish phrase, " Vender
miel al Colmenaro," offering honey to one
who had bee-hives ; " Croesi pecuniar ter
unciam addere," or adding a farthing to the
wealth of Croesus, esteemed in his time, the
richest monarch in the world. The adage is
also applicable to persons telling as news what
is generally known, or offering to instruct
any one in arts, with which he is well ac-
quainted. Making presents to the rich, and
'neglecting friends or relations, to whom such
assistance might be beneficial, are acts falling
also under the censure of this proverb.
Suum cuique pulchrum.
M*e each of us think, that whatever we
possess,
( 39 )
possess, whether children, horses, dogs, houses,
or any other things, are better than those of
our neighbours, " all our geese are swans."
Or, as a common adage has it, " Every crow
thinks her own bird fair." This disposition,
when not carried to excess, is rather to be
encouraged than reproved, as tending to make
us contented and happy, in our situations;
indulged too much, it occasions our becoming
dupes to sycophants and flatterers. None fall
so easily under the influence of this prejudice,
as poets, orators, and artisans, who are gene-
rally as much enamoured with their own pro-
ductions, as lovers are with the charms of their
mistresses. "Nemo unquam, neque poeta,
neque orator fuit, qui quenquam meliorem se
arbitraretur," there never was poet, or orator,
Cicero says, who thought any other superior
to himself in his art, nor any lover who did
not find more beauty in his mistress than in
any other woman.
Patrice. Fumus Igni alieno luculentior.
Even the smoke of our own chimney shines
brighter than the fire of a stranger's, for
D 4 "Home
( 40 )
c; Home is home, though ever so homely."
" Bos alienus subinde prospectat foras," the
strange ox frequently looks to the door, ready
to return to the home, whence he has been
lately taken ; and we know that dogs can
scarcely, by any kindness, be prevented from
returning to the houses of their old masters.
" Chaque oiseau trouve son nid bien," the
French say; and the Italians, "Adogniuccello,
il suo nido e bello," every bird prefers his
own nest.
As a comparatively small portion only of
mankind can inhabit the temperate regions of
the earth, or can acquire a larger portion of
the goods of fortune, than are necessary for
their subsistence, if this disposition to be
contented with, and even to give a prefer-
ence to our native soil, and our home, had
not been implanted in us by Providence,
the misery and distress, already so abundant
in the world, would have been greatly in-
creased. But we often carry this affection
too far, and are thence led, not only to prefer
our own possessions, as was noticed under the
last adage, but to think too cheaply of, or
even
C 41 )
even to despise those of our neighbours.
This sort of prejudice is most seen in neigh-
bouring countries, and cannot be better illus-
trated than by adverting to the contemptuous
expressions used by the common people of
this country when speaking of France, which,
though one of the most fertile countries in
the world, they seem to think that it scarcely
produces sufficient for the sustenance of its
inhabitants. This amor patrise is well de-
scribed by Goldsmith in the following lines
in his Traveller.
" The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone,
Boldly proclaims the happiest spot his own.
Extols the treasures of his stormy seas,
And his long night of revelry and ease.
The naked savage panting at the line,
Boasts of his golden sands, and palmy wine,
Basks in the glare, or stems the tepid wave,
And thanks his Gods for all the good they gave,,
Nor less the patriot's boast, where'er we roam,
His first, best country ever is at home."
The reader may not be displeased at seeing
the following on the same subject.
" Cling to your home, if there the meanest shed,
Yield but a hearth and shelter to your head,
And
( 42 )
And some poor plot, with fruitage scantly stored,
Be all that Heaven allots you for your board ;
Unsavoured bread, and herbs that scattered grow,
Wild on the river's brink, or mountain's brow ;
Yet e'en this c-heerless mansion shall provide,
More heart's repose, than all the world beside."
Tales and Poems bij the. Rev. R. BLAND, p. 81.
Frons Occipitio prior.
By this enigmatical expression, that the
forehead in which the eyes are placed, pre-
cedes the hind-head ; the ancients meant to
shew, that all business may be expected to be
best performed, if attended to by the persons
who are to be benefited by it. A philosopher
being asked by his neighbour, what would
best fatten his horse ? answered " the eyes of
its master," as his presence would make his
fields most fertile and productive, the foot of
the owner being the best manure for his land.
"Quando en casa no esta el gato, estiendese
el raton," that is, "When the cat is away, the
mice will play." T. Livius, on the same sub-
ject, says, "Non satis feliciter solere procedere,
quse oculis agas alienis," that business is not
likely
( 43 )
likely to go on well, which is committed to
the management of strangers. The Italians,
French, and Spaniards, as well as ourselves,
have adopted the answer given by the philo-
sopher, among their proverbs, viz. " L'occhio
del Padrone, ingrassa il cavallo." It. " L'ceil
du maitre engraisse le cheval." Fr. "Elojo
del amo engorda el caballo."Sp. that is, "The
eye of the master makes the horse fat." A
lusty man riding on a lean and sorry jade,
being asked how it happened that he looked
so well, and his horse so ill, said, it was because
he provided for himself, but his servant had
the care of the beast.
The word "prior" in the adage, is used in
the sense of potior, or melior, better.
JEqualis lEqualem delect at, and
Simile gaudet simili.
"Like to like." Hence we see persons of
similar dispositions, habits, and years, and
pursuing the same studies, usually congre-
gating together, as most able to assist each
other in their pursuits. " Ogni simile appe-
tisce
( 44 )
tisce il suo simile," every man endeavours
to associate with those who are like himself.
"Chacun aime son semblable," Fr. and which
is nearly the same, " Cada uno busca a su
semejante." Sp. The contrary to this is,
Fig u I us Figitlo invidet, Faber Fabro.
" Two of a trade can never agree," each
of them fearing to be excelled by his rival.
This passion might be turned to their mutual
advantage, if they should be thence induced
to labour to excel each other in their art. It
would then become, " Cos ingeniorum," a
whetstone to their wit. But it more often
expends itself in envying and endeavouring
to depress their rivals.
" The potter hates another of the trade,
If by his hands a finer dish is made;
The smith, his brother smith with scorn doth treaf,
If he his iron strikes with brisker heat."
" Etiam mendicus mendico invidet."
" It is one beggar's woe,
To see another by the door go."
The passion is found also among animals,
" Canes socium in culina nullum amant," or
11 Una dooms non alit.duos canes," the dog
will
( 45 )
will have no companion in the kitchen, anH"
"Monscum monte non miscebitur," two proud
and haughty persons are seldom found toagree.
Principium Dimidium totius, or
Dimidium Facti, qui bene cepit, habet.
" A work well begun is half clone," which
has also been adopted by the Spaniards, the
Italians, and the French. " Buen principio la
mitad es hecho." Sp. "Chi ben commencia a
la meta dell' opra finito." It. " II est bien
avanc6, qui a bien commence*," he has made
good progress in a business, who has begun it
well. We often find great reluctance, and
have much difficulty, in bringing ourselves
to set about a business, but being once en-
gaged in it, we usually then go on with plea-
sure, feeling ourselves interested in carrying
it on to its completion. In morals, an earnest
desire to be good, is in a great measure the
means of becoming good.
Satius est Initiis mederi quam F'mi.
"A stitch in time saves nine." The most
serious diseases, if taken in time, might often
be cured.
" Principiis
( 46' )
" Principiis obsta, sero medicina paratur,
Quum mala per longas invaluere moras,"
oppose the disease in the beginning, for
medicine will be applied too late, when it
has taken deep root, and fixed itself in the
constitution. To the same purport are, "Sero
clypeum post vulnera," it is too late to have
recourse to your shield, after you are wounded.
" La casa quemada, acudis con el agua," the
Spaniards say, " When the house is burnt,
you then bring water.'' Evil dispositions in
children, are also to be corrected before they
become habits. "Qui bien aime, bien chatie,"
or "Spare the rod, and spoil the child.''
Fortes Fortuna adjwcat.
l< Fortune assists the brave," " sed multo
majus ratio," Cicero adds, but reason or con-
sideration, is still more to be depended on ;
therefore, " antequam incipias consulto, et
ubi consulueris, facto opus est," that isr
think before you act, but having well con-
sidered, and formed your plan, go on re-
solutely to the end. To design well, and to
persevere with vigour in the road we have
chalked
{ 47 )
chalked out for ourselves, is the almost cer-
tain way to attain our object. " At in rebus
arcluis," but in great and sudden difficulties,
a bold and courageous effort will frequently
succeed, where reason or deliberation could
give no assistance, for "non est apucl aram
consultandum," when the enemy is within the
walls, it is too late for consultation.
" When dangers urge he that is slow,
Takes from himself, and adds to his foe.''
And, " Quien no se aventura, no ha ventura,"
" nothing venture nothing have." The pro-
verb has been pretty generally adopted. "A
los osados ayuda la fortuna," the Spaniards
say ; and the French " La Fortune aide aux
audacieux." Which being the same as the
Latin, need not to be explained.
Cum Lawis luctari.
Contending with, or reproaching the dead,
which was held to be a great opprobrium, or
scandal among the ancients. It was " vellere
barbam leoni mortuo," taking a dead lion by
the beard. "De mortuis nil nisi bonum,"
that
( 48 )
that is, of the dead, record only what will
tend to their honour, has therefore passed into
a proverb, agreeably to which is the Italian
adage, " Non dir die il vero de vivi, 6 non
parlar che bene de morti," speak only what
is true of the living, and what is honourable
of the dead. But the dead can receive no
harm, and the world may be benefited by
publishing their errors. In Egypt persons
were appointed, we are told, whose office it
was, to examine into the conduct of their
deceased sovereigns; if it had been such as
had been beneficial to the kingdom, the
warmest tribute of praise was paid to their
memories; if bad, their conduct was censured
and their memory reprobated, to serve as a
warning to their successors.
Taurum toilet qui vitulum sustulerit, or
tollere Taurum,
Qua tulerit Vitulum, ilia potest.
" Who has been used to carry a calf, may
in time carry an ox." The adage is said to
have taken its rise from the story of a woman
who
( 49 )
who took delight in nursing and carrying
about with her a calf, and as the animal grew,
her strength so increased, that she was able to
carry it when it became an ox. Or, as Eras-
mus conjectures, from the story of Milo the
Crotonian, who was said, with great ease to
take up an ox, and carry it on his shoulders ;
but who perished miserably, " Wedged in the
oak which he strove to rend." It may be
used to shew the force of habit or custom, and
its influence both on our mental and bodily
powers, which may by use be increased to
an almost incredible degree. Also to shew
the necessity of checking and eradicating the
first germs of vice in children, as, if they be
suffered to fix themselves, they will in time
become too powerful to be subdued.
" Nimia Familiar it as par it Contemptum.^
" Familiaritc- engendre mcpris."
" Familiarity breeds contempt." " E tribus
optimis rebus," Plutarch says, " tres pessimas
oriuntur," from three excellent endowments,
three of the worst of our affections are pro-
E dnced.
duced. Truth begets hatred, familiarity con-
tempt, and success envy. The contrary to this
may be,
Omne ignotum pro magn'ifico est.
We are apt rather to extol those persons
whom we know only by report, but with
whose merit, or real characters, we are not
acquainted. " A prophet is not without ho-
nour," we are told, "save in his own country."
Great men should not associate too familiarly
with the world, ever more ready to blazon their
defects, which reduce them to their own stan-
dard, than to admire those talents and qualities
which they are incapable of imitating. To
posterity they must look for justice, which
never fails paying to their genius and abilities,
the homage that had been refused them by
their own age and country. " Suum cuique
decus posteritas rependet." Posterity will
give to every one the portion of commenda-
tion, to which he was entitled by his merit.
Or the adage may be thus interpreted : 'What
is mentioned in the gross often fills the mind
with surprise, which in detail would excite no
emotion. If we should say of any man that
he
he ordinarily walked between two and three
thousand miles in a year, the account would
seem to be exaggerated ; but if we should say,
he walked six or seven miles in a day, which
would amount to the same number of miles in
the year, no surprize would be excited.
Mandrabuli more Res succedit,
Was used to be said of any business not
going on according to expectation ; or from
persons indulging hopes of advantage from ill-
concerted or ill- matured projects, not likely
to be successful; but rather " ad morem Man-
drabuli," to become every day worse. It may
be applied to those " who expect that age will
perform the promises of youth; and that the
deficiencies of the present day will be supplied
by the morrow:" but who will most likely be
disappointed.
Who Mandrabulus was is not known, but
it is recorded of him, that having found a
considerable treasure, in the fulness of his
heart he presented at the altar of Juno a
golden ram, meaning to make a similar offer-
E 2 ing
ing every year ; but repenting, as it would
seem, of his liberality, the next year he offered
only a ram of silver ; and the following year,
one of brass ; and hence, that is, from the
gift offered at the shrine of the goddess, having
been thus every year lessened in its value,
proceeds the proverb.
Maturbfias senex, si diu velis esse senex.
" Old young and old long." " Quien
quisiere ser mucho tiempo viejo, comiencelo
presto." The Spaniards say, you must begin
to be old, that is, you must leave off the irre-
gularities of youth betimes, if you wish to
enjoy a long and healthy old age : for " quas
peccamus juvenes, ea luimus senes," young
men's knocks, old men feel," and " Senem
juventus pigra, mendicum creat," youth pass-
ed in idleness produces usually an old age of
want and beggary. The French almost in the
same words say, " Jeunesse oiseuse, vieillesse
disetteuse." The pleasures of the senses too
much indulged, or too long persisted in, lay
the foundation of diseases, which either cut
off
( 53 )
off life prematurely, or make the evening of
our days miserable.
" Si quieres vivir sano, haz te viejo temprano."
Senis mutarc Linguam.
It is difficult for persons advanced in years
to acquire a new language. The rigid and
unyielding muscles of aged persons, render
them as unfit for pronouncing a language to
which they have not been accustomed, as the
limbs of a cripple are for dancing. But the
sentiment may be extended further, as they
would be scarcely less successful in attempting
the acquisition of any new art or science ;
such acquisition requiring a greater degree of
vigour, than they can be supposed to have re-
tained. The province of the ancient, if their
time has been well employed, is rather to in-
struct others, than to hunt after new sources
of knowledge. Plutarch says, " that the life
of a vestal virgin was divided into three por-
tions ; in the first of which she learned the
duties of her profession, in the second she
practised them, and in the third she taught
E 3 them
them to others." This is no bad model for per-
sons in every situation of life. The proverb
may be applied to persons attempting anything
for which they are peculiarly disqualified.
Homo longus raro sapiens, and
A metis longus.
Tall men are rarely found to be wise.
The Spaniards say, " El grande de cuerpo, no
es muy hombre.'' That is, the robust man is
rarely a great man ; and the Scotch, " fat
paunches bode lean pates/' Livy seems also
to patronise the opinion, " men of great sta-
ture and bulk," he says, " appear more for-
midable, than they are found to be on trial."
His observation, however, may be supposed to
relate rather to their courage or bodily strength,
than to their genius or understanding. " Sir
Francis Bacon being asked by King James,
what he thought of the French ambassador ;
he answered, that he was a tall proper man.
I, his Majesty replied, but what think you
of his head -piece ? is he proper for the office
of ambassador ? Sir, said Bacon, tall men are
like
like houses of four or five stories, wherein
commonly the uppermost room is worst fur-
nished." And Burton says, that " commonly
your vast bodies and fine features are sottish,
dull, and heavy spirits." Yet, notwithstanding
this coincidence of opinion, of these different
countries and persons, and the suffrages of
others might perhaps be joined ; the observa-
tion will be found to be much oftener contra-
dicted than confirmed; and almost every one's
experience will tell him, that wit and judg-
ment are promiscuously distributed, and fall
as often to the lot of the tall and the robust
as to those of an opposite stature and bulk.
Mustelam habes.
You have a weasel in your house, was said
to persons with whom every thing turned out
unfortunate and perverse. To meet a weasel
was considered by the ancients as ominous,
and portending some misfortune about to hap-
pen. Among huntsmen in this country, Eras-
mus tells us, it was in his time deemed an ill
omen, if any one named a weasel when they
E 4 were
( 56 )
were setting off for their sport. Theophrastus,
in his description of the character of a super-
stitious man, says; " If a weasel crosses the
road he stops short, be his business never so
pressing, and will not stir a foot till somebody
else has gone before him and broke the omen;
or till he himself has weakened the prodigy by
throwing three stones."
E multis Palcis, pauliim Fructus collegi.
" Much straw, but little grain." With
much labour I have obtained but small profit;
or, from a long and laboured discourse, but
little information. " Assai romor et poco
lana." " Great cry but little wool, as the
devil said when he sheared his hogs." This
adage takes it rise from a scene in one of the
Misteries, a kind of dramatic amusement very
popular before the use of plays; in which the
devil is introduced shearing one of those ani-
mals, which continued making a most fright-
ful noise during the operation, to the^ great
diversion of the audience,
mf
Extra
( 57 )
Extra Lutum Peeks hales.
You have been fortunate in getting out of
that difficulty, or that you did not engage in
a business, which, however promising it might
appear, could not but have involved you in
much trouble. Literally it means, in drawing
your feet out of the mud.
Ex Umbra in Solem.
You have explained that difficult passage,
and rendered clear and luminous, what was
before obscure and difficult.
Ex uno omnia specta.
From one act, or circumstance, you will
readily judge what is the real character or
disposition of the man. This may to a cer-
tain degree be admitted as a test; as, if a man
be detected in any deliberate act of villany,
where there has been an evident design to
defraud or injure another, we may without
hesitation pronounce the party to be a bad
man : but the converse of this, may not be
so
( 58 )
so surely depended on, and we may not with
safety, from one single act of charity, or
kindness, pronounce the party to be a good
man, or trust him as such. So also, if a man
from walking over Bagshot Heath, should
take upon him to determine the state of this
country, as to its fertility, and should de-
scribe it as in general barren and inhospitable,
or from being deceived by an individual, with
whom he had been engaged in business, should
determine that the inhabitants are faithless,
and not to be trusted, it is evident, that in
both cases, he would be found to have passed
a rash and precipitate judgment.
/
Ad Consilium ne accesseris, antequam voceris.
" Speak when you are spoken to, and come
when you are called for.5' Advice should not,
generally speaking, be offered until it is re-
quired, for, "proffered service stinks." But if
we see one, in whose welfare we feel ourselves
interested, about to engage in a connection,
or business, by which he is likely to be in-
jured, it becomes then the part of a friend to
interfere,
( 59 )
interfere, and admonish him of his danger,
though his opinion should not have been
asked, or even though caution has been used,
to keep the circumstance from his knowledge.
Still the task is far from being grateful.
" Le mauvais metier," Guy Patin says, " que
celui de censeur; on ne gagne a 1'exercer que
la haine de ceux qu'on reprend, et on ne cor-
rige personne," it is a bad business that of
a censor, he is sure to incur the hatred of
those he reproves, without having the pleasure
of finding them improved by his advice. "Ne
prendre conseil que de sa tete," that is, "Take
counsel only of your own thoughts," the
French say, but this is in some degree con-
tradicted by the following : " Un fou avise
bien un sage," even a fool may suggest what
may deserve the attention of a wise man; we
should therefore listen to advice, let it come
from what quarter it will, for "Al buen consejo
no se halla precio," good advice is inestimable.
Et meum Tclum Cuspidem habet acuminatum.
Even my dart has also a point, and is ca-
pable
( 60 )
pable of inflicting a wound, though it may
not pierce so deep as yours. I would willingly
avoid contest, but if you will continue to
molest me, I will not suffer alone, but will
take caVe you shall feel a part of the evil.
Agreeably to this sentiment also, is the Scot-
tish Order of the Thistle, framed, with its
motto — " Nemo me impune lacessit."
Barbte ten us Sapient cs.
Philosophers even to the beard. Oh, he is
a wise man, you may see it by his beard, may
be applied ironically to persons of grave and
serious manners, who wish to pass themselves
off for men of more learning, or knowledge,
than they really possess. As the beard is not
completely formed until the age of manhood,
it has always been considered as an emblem
of wisdom. " II est terns d'etre sage, quand
on a la barbe au menton," it is time to be
wise now that you have a beard on your chin;
and, "Hombre de barba," with the Spaniards,
means a man of knowledge, or intelligence.
" Diga barba que haga," let your beard advise
you
you what is befitting you to do, and "a poca
barba, poca virguenza," little beard, little
shame, or modesty. " Quixadas sin barbas no
inerecen ser honradas," chins without beards
deserve no honour. " Fa ire la barbe," among
the French, means to deceive, or impose on
any one, by superior address or cunning; also,
to excel in wisdom and sagacity. Among
the Persians, and perhaps generally in the
east, the beard is held in great reverence, and
to speak of it slightingly or disrespectfully,
would be resented, and for a stranger to vio-
late it, by touching it, would probably be
avenged by instant death.
JYb;z est ejusdem et multa, et opportuna dicere.
It is not easy for any one to talk a great
deal, and altogether to the purpose. " A
mucho hablar, mucho errar," talk much, and
err much. " No diga la langua par do pague
la cabeza," " the tongue talks at the head's
cost," and " eating little, and speaking little,
can never do harm." "He that speaks doth
sow, but he that is silent reaps." " En boca
cerrada,
cerrada, no entra moscha," flies do not enter
the mouth that is shut, and " Fous sont sages,
quand ils se taisent," fools are wise, or may
be so reputed, when they are silent.
Aut Regem aut Fatuum nasci oportuit.
A man should either be born a king or an
idiot, he should be at the topr or at the
bottom of the wheel of fortune ; at the least,
there are men so ambitious, of such high and
daring spirits, that they will venture every
thing, their fortunes, and their lives, to attain
to the highest rank in their country. They
will be, "aut Caesar, aut nullus," either kings
or beggars. " O rico, o pinjada," rich, or
hanged, "neck, or nothing." Milton makes
Lucifer say,
" To reign is worth ambition, though in hell.
Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven."
But the adage seems to have a special refer-
ence to the respect usually paid to idiots.
In Turkey, and in other parts of the east,
they were held in such veneration, that it was
thought to be no less than a sin to oppose, or
control
( 63 )
control them in any thing they were disposed
to do. They had therefore equal liberty with
kings, who say and do whatever they please.
To a late period, it was usual with the nobles,
in this, as well as in other countries of Europe,
to entertain in their houses a fool, for their
diversion, who often took the liberty of re-
proving their masters for their follies, and in
much freer language than any other persons
were permitted to use. When Jaques, in "As
you like it," proposed putting on a fool's coat,
he says,
• " I must have liberty
Withal, as large a charter as the wind,
To blow on whom I please ; for so fools have."
May it be added, what is currently said,
"Fools are fortunate." They also may be
said to be happy, as they neither anticipate
evil, nor even feeLthe full pressure of it when
present. " Dieu aide a trois sortes de per-
sonnes, aux fous, aux enfans, et auxivrognes,"
God protects three sorts of persons, fools,
infants, and drunkards, the latter rarely fall-
ing, it is said, into any danger, even when
full of drink. The French also say, " T£te
de
( 64 )
cle fou ne blanchit jamais," the head of the
fool never becomes grey, which is probably
not better founded than the former obser-
vation.
Minutula Pluvia Imbrem parit.
Many small drops make a shower. " Goutte
a goutte la mer s'egoute," the sea itself
may be emptied by drops. " Petit a. petit
1'oiseau fait son nid," by little and little the
bird makes his nest, and "many a little
makes a mickle." By the accumulation of
small sums, large fortunes may frequently be
made. " Poco 6 spesso empie il borsetto,"
little and often fills the purse. Therefore the
proverb says, "Take care of your pence,
your shillings and your pounds will take
care of themselves. '\ The adage also admo-
nishes, not to disregard slight evils, they may
increase to a considerable magnitude; or small
expenses, for if there be many of them, though
each of them singly may be insignificant, to-
gether they will make a formidable sum. Of
the same tendency is,
Gutta
( 65 )
Gutta cavat Lapidem.
By the constant trickling of water, the solid
stone becomes excavated. This should en-
courage us to perseverance in industry, to
which few things are impossible. " Mad ruga y
veras, trabaja y auras," rise betimes and you
will see, labour assiduously and you will have.
" Oft little add to little, and the amount
Will swell, heaped atoms thus produce a mount."
Hum ausculta, cui quatuor sunt Aures.
Listen to him who has four ears. It is not
known what gave birth to this adage, but it
is understood, as advising to attend to old
and experienced persons, who are slow in
judging, who are more ready to hear than to
speak; or, as the English proverb has it, "who
have wide ears and short tongues."
" He that hears much, and speaks not at all,
Shall be welcome in parlour, in kitchen and hall/'
" Oi, voye, et te taise,
Si tu veux vivre en pais."
That is, if you wish to live quietly, hear, see,
F and
( 66 )
and be silent ; which is taken probably from
the following monkish line.
" Audi, vide, tace, si vis vivere in pace."
A similar sense has, "prospectandum vetulo
latrante cane," when the old dog barks, or
opens, then attend.
Adfelicem inflectere Parietem.
When a vessel, in sailing, inclines too much
to one side, the passengers usually crowd to
the other, where seems to be the greatest
safety, and when fortune ceases to smile on
any one, or he is found to be sinking, it is
then that his friends usually leave him, and
fly to others who are more successful. Though
such conduct cannot but* be condemned by
all ingenuous persons, yet on the other hand,
we should not so connect ourselves with the
fortunes of those who are falling, as to make
our own ruin inevitable with theirs. 1' Juvare
arnicos rebus afflictis decet." We should in-
deed assist our friends in their misfortunes,
but not at the hazard of the destruction of
ourselves arid families, otherwise we should
subject
subject ourselves to the censure implied in.
the following, " Alienos agros irrigas, tuis
sitientibus," while watering the fields of our
neighbour, we leave our own to be parched
with drought. " Harto es necio y loco, quien
vacia su cuerpo, por inchir el de otro," he is
foolish and mad enough, who empties his own
purse to fill that of another.
Manumnonverterim, Digitum
Are Latin phrases used to express the most
perfect supineness and indifference on any
subject, and which we have adopted : " I
would not give a turn of my hand, or hold
out a finger to obtain it," or, "I value not a
straw what such a person may say of me," or,
" there is not the turn of a straw difference
between them."
Emere malo, quam rogare.
I had rather buy what I want, than ask
any one for it. To an ingenuous mind, it is a
hard thing to be obliged to say, I beg; he had
F 2 rather
( 68 )
rather purchase what he stands in need of,
with his own money, or if he has not money,
with the labour of his own hands. " Neque
enim levi mercede emit, qui precatur," he
pays no small price for a favour, who buys it
by intreaties. " If I had money," Socrates
said, "I would this morning have bought
myself a coat." Though the money was im-
mediately supplied by his friend, yet it came,
Seneca observes, too late. It was a shame
that such a man should have been reduced to
the necessity of asking for it.
Ubi amid, ibi opes.
Where there are friends, there is wealth, or,
in the usual acceptation of the proverb, It
is better to have friends without money, than
money without friends. "Aquelles son ricos,
que tienen amigos," they are rich who have
friends. To be possessed of friends, is doubt-
less valuable, as they may stand us in stead
in our troubles ; but in the ordinary occur-
rences of life, money may be depended on
with more certainty, as it will purchase us
both
( 69 )
both conveniences and friends. " Las nece-
dades del rico, por sentencias passan en el
mundo," even the foolish sayings of the rich,
pass in the world as oracles. We may there-
fore more truly say, " Ubi opes, ibi amici,"
he that has wealth has friends ; " Vulgus
amicitias utilitate probat," for friends are
commonly esteemed only in proportion to the
advantages they are able to procure us.
"Hood an ass with reverend purple,
So you can hide his two ambitious ears,
And he shall pass for a cathedral doctor." — Volpone.
Thus aulicum.
Court incense. The splendid promises of
courtiers, like the odoriferous vapour of.
frankincense, please the Qenses for a time,
but they are both of them light and volatile,
and leave no beneficial effects behind them.
Contra Stimulum calces.
1 You are kicking against the pricks," may
be said to persons, who, impatient under any
affliction or injury, by attempting to avenge
F 3 themselves,
( 70 )
themselves, increase their misfortune ; or who
contend with persons capable of inflicting a
much severer punishment, than that which
they are suffering. "Paul, Paul, why per-
secutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick
against the pricks." The adage takes its rise
from the custom of goading oxen, to make
them go forward, with sticks, having sharp
points. If they are restive and push back-
wards, they force the points of the sticks into
their flesh.
Nullus sum.
I am undone, lost beyond all possibility of
redemption, was the exclamation of Davus,
when he found that he had, by his schemes,
precipitated his master into the very engage-
ment he was employed, and actually meant to
extricate him from.
Nee Obolum habet, unde Restim emat. .
He has not a penny left to buy an halter.
He has no property, " ne in pelle quidem,"
not
( .71 )
not even in his skin. " Ne obolus quiclem
relictus est," he has totally dissipated and
wasted his property, not a morsel, or the
smallest particle of it remains. " He is as poor
as a church mouse."
" Beg," Gratiano says to Shylock, " that
thou may est have leave to hang thyself;
" And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state,
Thou hast not left the value of a cord ;
Therefore thou must be hanged at the state's charge."
" No le alcaca la sal al agua," " he is so poor,"
the Spaniards say, " that he hath not salt
enough to season his water." Xenophon, in
his dialogues, makes one of the interlocutors
say, " he had not so much land as would
furnish dust for the body of a wrestler."
De Land caprinA.
Disputing about what is of no value, about
goat's wool, which can be turned to no profit,
and half the disputes in the world are of as
little importance; at the least, the subjects of
them are rarely of half the value of the trouble
and expense incurred in the contest. Of the
F 4 same
( 72 )
same kind are, " De fumo disceptare," vel
" deasini umbra." Plutarch tells a ludicrous
story, as giving origin to the latter adage.
Demosthenes observing, that the judges before
whom he was pleading, paid no attention to
what he was saying, but were discoursing on
matters that had no relation to the subject
before them, said to them, "If you will lend
your attention a little, I have now a story to
relate that will amuse you." Finding they
were turned to him, he said, "A certain
young man hired an ass, to carry provision to
a neighbouring town, but the day proving to
be very hot, and there being no place on the
road affording shelter, he stopped the ass, and
sat himself down on one side of him, so as to
be shaded by the ass from the sun. On this,
the driver insisted on his getting up, aHeging
that he had hired the ass to carry his load,
not to afford him a shade. The man, on the
other hand, contended, that having hired the
ass for the journey, he had a right to use him
as a screen from the sun, as well as to carry
his goods ; besides, he added, the goods on
the back of the ass, which were his, afforded
more
( 73 )
more than half the shade; and so long a dis-
pute ensued, which came at length to blows."
Demosthenes, perceiving the judges were now
fully intent on listening to his story, sud-
denly broke off, and descending from the
rostrum, proceeded to walk out of the court.
The judges calling to him to finish his story,
" I perceive you are ready enough," he said,
" to listen to a ridiculous story about the
shadow of an ass, but when I was pleading
the cause of a man, accused of a crime affect-
ing his life, you had not leisure to pay it the
necessary attention, to enable you to be mas-
ters of the subject on which you were to
decide." A story in many respects similar to
this, is related of Dr. Elmar, who was Bishop
of London in the time of Queen Elizabeth.
In the course of a sermon he was preaching
in his parish church, before he had attained
to the dignity of a bishopric, finding his
auditory careless and inattentive, he read,
with great solemnity, a passage from a Hebrew
book he happened to have with him. This
drawing the attention of the congregation, he
reproved them for their inconsistency in lis-
tening
( 74 )
tening to him when reading a language they
did not understand, and neglecting or refus-
ing to hear him, when explaining to them in
their own language, doctrines, which they
were materially interested to know and un-
derstand.
Talpd ccKcior.
Blinder than a mole. The ancients thought
moles had no eyes, but they have two small
eyes, affording them so much sight, as to en-
able them to know when they have emerged
through the earth, and they no sooner per-
ceive the light, than they return into their
burrows, where alone they can be safe. This
proverb is applied to persons who are exceed-
ingly slow in conceiving, or understanding
what is said to them ; also to persons search-
ing for what lays immediately before them.
" If it was a bear," we say, " it would bite
you." To the same purport is
Leberide c&cior.
By the leberis, the Latins meant the dry
and cast skin of a serpent, or of any other
animal,
( 75 )
animal, accustomed to change its coat, in
which the apertures for the eyes only remain.
With us, it is usual, in censuring the same
defect, to say, " He is as blind as a beetle."
" We are all of us used to be Argus's abroad,
but moles at home," but how much better
would it be to correct an error in ourselves,
than to find an hundred in our neighbours.
PecunicE, obediunt omnla.
" Money masters all things." All things
obey, or are subservient to money, it is there-
fore the principal object of our attention.
" Sine me vocari pessimum, ut dives vocer,"
call the what you will, so you do but admit
me to be rich. " Nemo an bonus : an dives
omnes qua3rimus." When about to treat
with or enter into business with any one,
we do not so much inquire whether he is a
good, as whether he is a rich man ; " Nee
quare et unde ? quid habeat, tantum rogant,"
nor by what means he acquired his money,
but only how much he actually possesses.
" Gifts," we say, " break through stone walls,"
for
( 76 )
for what virtue is proof against a bribe ? " He
that has money in his purse, cannot want a
head for his shoulders." That is, he will never
want persons to advise, assist, and defend him.
" I d-iiiari fan correre i cavallo," " it is mo-
ney that makes the mare to go." " For dinero
buy hi el perro," the dog dances for money ;
and l< Quien dinaro tiene, hazo lo que quiere,"
he that has money may have what he pleases.
" Plate sin with gold, and the strong arm
of justice cannot reach it; clothe it in rags, a
pigmy straw will pierce it." Volpone, in the
comedy of that name, addressing his gold,
says
" Such are thy beauties, and our loves, dear saint,
Riches ! thou dumb god, that giv'st all men tongues ;
That canst do naught, and yet mak'st men do all things ;
The price of souls ; even hell, with thee to boot,
Is made worth heaven. Thou art virtue, fame,
Honour, and all things else. Who can get thee,
He shall be noble, valiant, honest, wise."
On the other hand, we are told, that Fortune
makes those whom she most favours fools;
" Fortuna nimium quern favet, stultum facit,"
and " Ubi mens plurima, ibi minima fortuna/'
those
( 77 )
those who abound in knowledge are usually
most deficient in money. It has a^s° been ob-
served, that riches excite envy, and often ex-
pose the possessors of it to danger : the storm
passes over the shrub, but tears up the oak by
its roots. " God help the rich/' we say, " the
poor can beg."
" Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator,"
the thief who makes the rich man to tremble,
excites no alarm in the breast of the beggar ;
he has nothing to lose.
" Hence, robbers hence, to yonder wealthier door,
Unenvied poverty protects the poor.
" Non esse cupidum, pecunia est, non esse
emacem, vectigal est," not to be covetous, to
desire riches, is wealth ; not to be extravagant
or expensive, is an estate. Hence poverty
has been called, the harbour of peace and se^
curity, where undisturbed sleep and undissem-
bled joys do dwell. " Fidelius rident tugu-
ria," the laughter of the cottage is more
hearty and sincere than that of the court:
great \vealth therefore conduces but little to
happiness : and " as he who has health is
young;
( 78 )
young; so be who owes nothing is rich."
"Dantur quidem bonis, ne quis mala estimet;
malis autem, ne quis nimis bona," riches are
given to the good, St. Austin says, that they
mav not be esteemed an evil ; to the bad, that
*/
they may not be too highly valued.
Omnium horarum homo.
A companion for all hours or seasons.
This may be said of persons of versatile and
easy dispositions, who can accommodate them-
selves to all circumstances, whether of festivity
or of trouble ; who with the grave can be seri-
ous, with the gay cheerful ; and who are
equally fit to conduct matters of business or
of pleasure: such a man, we are told, was the
philosopher Aristippus.
" Omnis Aristippum decuit color.''
Every thing became him, by which enviable
qualities, he was always a favoured guest at all
tables and in all companies.
Veritatis
(" 79 )
Veritatis simplex est oratio.
Truth needs not the ornament of many
words, it is most lovely then when least
adorned. There are circumstances, however,
in which art may honestly be used ; when we
have any afflicting news to communicate, it is
often necessary to prepare the mind for its re-
ception by some general observations : or
when we would persuade a person to do what
we know to be unpleasant, but which we be-
lieve would be ultimately to his advantage;
or would recal him from courses or connec-
tions, we believe to be injurious to his fame or
fortune. In these cases a blunt declaration of
our intentions would defeat the proposed end,
and we must have recourse to a little art and
management to engage the attention of the
persons whom we wish to persuade. The pro-
verb is opposed to those who. by a multiplicity
of words, endeavour to obscure the truth, and
to induce those they converse with to enter-
tain opinions very different to what they
would have formed, if the story had been told
in a plain and simple manner. Two architects
•having
( 80 )
having offered themselves as candidates to
erect a public building at Athens, the one de-
scribed in a florid and ostentatious manner,
all the parts of the building, and with what
ornaments he would complete it ; when he had
finished, the other only said, " My lords,
what this man has said, I will do." He was
elected.
Injuries sprcta cxolescunt, si irascaris
^ agnita videntur.
Injuries that are slighted and suffered to
pass unnoticed, are soon forgotten; by resent-
ing them, unless you are able to punish the
agressor, you acknowledge yourself to be
hurt, and so afford a triumph to the person
who gave the affront. " Deridet, sed non
derideor," he laugheth, but I am not laugh-
ed at. " The wise man passeth by an injury,
but anger resteth in the bosom of a fool.
Omnes sibi melius esse malunt quam alteri*
We all of us wish better to ourselves than
to others. Though a friend is said to be ano-
ther
( 81 )
ther self, yet what affects our own safety, is
doubtless to be attended to before the con-
cerns of any other person, for " proximus
egomet mihi," I am my own nearest relation ;
and " Charity begins at home." " Tunica pal-
lio propior est." " Near is my shirt," we say,
" but nearer is my skin." To the same purport,
and nearly in the same words are, " Ma che-
mise m'est plus proche que ma robe." Fr.
" Tocca piu la camisa ch' il gippone." It.
" Mas cerca esta la camisa, que el sayo," thajt
is, my shirt is nearer than my coat.
Extra Telorum Jactum.
Beyond bow-shot, or the reach of darts.
" Out of harm's way." " Out of debt, out of
clanger." Be concerned in no disputes, and
neither say nor do any thing of which an ad-
vantage may be taken, is the direction of pru-
dence; but from the mixed nature of human
affairs, not to be completely followed, but by
those who live only for themselves. Let
those, however, who neglect this caution be
sure that they have resolution enough to bear,
* or
( 82 )
or strength sufficient to overcome the difficul-
ties they may have brought upon themselves by
their imprudence. Socrates being asked, who
was the wisest man, answered " he who offends
the least."
Non cuivis homini contingit adire Cormthum.
It is not the fortune of every man to be
able to go to Corinth. This city, from its
commerce, and from the great concourse of
strangers accustomed to visit it, became the
o »
most wealthy, and in time, the most volup-
tuous city in the world ; it was also cele-
brated for its numerous and splendid temples,
baths, theatres, and other exquisitely rich and
beautiful public buildings, and unfortunately
not less so for its debaucheries. It was, there-
fore, only suitable to the circumstances of the
rich to visit a place so dissipated and expen-
sive. Corinth gave its name to the fourth
order of architecture, which was invented and
first employed in the public buildings there,
and to a metallic composition, Corinthian
brass, which was very beautiful and durable,
but
( 83 )
but of which there are no vestiges remaining.
The proverb may be aptly used to deter per-
sons from entering on pursuits, or engaging in
projects much beyond their faculties or powers
to carry into execution.
Fenestram, vel Januam aperire,
May be said when any one has incautiously
given information which may be turned to
the disadvantage of themselves or their friends.
Do you see what consequences may follow,
what mischief may ensue ? you have opened a
door to a thousand evils.
Ovem Lupo commisisti.
" Entregar las ovejas al lobo," you have
trusted the sheep to the care of the wolf, the
geese to the keeping of the fox. This may
be said of a parent who has left his children
in the hands of rapacious guardians, who will
fleece them of their property, not husband and
preserve it : a misfortune which happened to
Erasmus, When in conversation we have dis-
G 2 closed
( 84 )
closed any thing to those who should not have
known it, and who will be enabled to injure
persons whom they wish to oppress ; it may
be said, you have now put him in the power of
his enemy ; " you have given the wolf the
weather to keep."
Nulla Dies sine L'mea.
No day without a line, was the advice and
the practice of Apelles. No one must expect
to be perfect in any art, without incessant
care and diligence; therefore,
" Nulla dies abeat, quin linea ducta supersit,"
no day should be suffered to pass, without leav-
ing some memorial of itself. " Diem perdidi,"
" I have lost a day," was the exclamation of
the Emperor Titus, finding, on a review of
what had been performed, that he had relieved
no distressed person, nor done any act deserv-
ing recollection in the course of the day.
Manibus, Pedibusque.
With the utmost exertion of our hands and
feet,
( 85 )
feet, or " with tooth and nail," as we say.
" Nervis omnibus," " straining every nerve,"
exerting our utmost power or ability to effect
the purpose; " Remis velisque," pushing it on
with oars and sails ; " Omnem movere lapi-
dem," " leaving no stone unturned," to dis-
cover what we are in search of, are forms of
speech used by the Romans, which have been
adopted by us, and are therefore here ad-
mitted ; as may be also " Toto pectore," with
our whole soul, loving or hating any one.
These are all, and indeed many more similar
expressions, treated of by Erasmus as distinct
proverbs ; but it was thought to be better to
bring them together here, in this manner.
It may not be amiss, once for all, to observe,
that I have not confined myself to the sense
given by Erasmus to many of the adages.
As I have frequently passed over very long
disquisitions, when they appeared to me not
suitable to the present state of literature, or of
the times ; so on the other hand, I have some-
times expatiated largely, where he has given
the exposition in two or three lines. Another
considerable difference is, that here are intro-
G 3 duced
( 86 )
duced many corresponding adages, in the
French, Italian," Spanish, and English lan-
guages, none of which are to be found in his
book. It is singular, Jortin remarks, that
though Erasmus spent a large part of his time
in France, Italy, and England, it does not ap-
pear that he was ever able to converse in any
of those languages; or perhaps to read the pro-
ductions of any of the writers in those coun-
tries, excepting such as were written in Latin ;
which, as a language in general use, appears
to have been adopted by most of the literati
down to his time ; excepting perhaps by the
Italians, whose language had attained a higher
degree of polish and perfection than any of
the others.
Sub ornni Lapide Scorpius clormit.
We should believe that under every stone
a scorpion may be lodged, which seems to be
the sense of the adage ; and it is intended to
admonish us in all business to act with deli-
beration and caution, that we may not involve
ourselves
( 87 )
ourselves in troubles and dangers; particularly
we should set a guard over our tongues and
not be too communicative, lest we should
instruct others in any plans we may have
formed for the advancement of our affairs,
who may thence be enabled to become our
rivals, and prevent the completion of our de-
signs : or by speaking too freely of the con-
cerns of others excite enmities which mav be
«/
productive of consequences still more mis-
chievous. " Volto sciolto," the Italians say, " i
pensiert stretti," be free and open in your coun-
tenance and address, but cautious and reserved
in your communications. There are many other
similar cautions ; " Latet anguis in herba,"
there is a snake in the grass, take care how
you tread. " Debaxo de la miel, ay hiel,"
under the honey you may find gall. " Paredes
tien oydos :" and " tras pared, ni tras seto, no
digas tu secreto." tc Walls have ears," be cau-
tious what you say; and " little pitchers have
long ears." Children, even when playing about
you, are often more attentive to what you are
saying, than to their own amusement. " Dizen
los ninos en el solejar, lo que oyen a sus pa-
G 4 dres
v
( 38 )
dres en el bogar," they tell when abroad, \vhat
they hear their parents saying by the fireside.
In the countries where scorpions breed, they
are frequently found lying under stones, as
worms are in this country ; any one therefore
incautiously removing a stone, under which
one of these venemous reptiles may happen to
lie, will be in danger of being stung by the
enraged animal, whence the proverb.
Asinum sub frceno currere doces.
Teaching an ass to obey the rein, which the
ancients thought to be nearly as difficult as
u to wash a black-a-moor white," or to do any
other impossible thing, " Labour in vain."
Though I think it is not now found to be
so difficult, and those animals are made to
serve for many useful purposes. The adage
is used by Horace, and with much elegance,
in his first Satire.
" At si cognates nullo natura labore
Quos tibi dat, retinere veils, servareque amicos;
Infelix operam perclas ; ut si quis asellum
In campo doceat parentem currere frcenis."
Put if you expect to obtain the affection of
your
( 89 )
your relations, or to preserve the esteem of
your friends, without making any return for
their kindness, you will find yourself, wretch
that you are, miserably deceived, as he would
be, who should attempt to teach an ass to be
obedient to the rein.
Annosam Arborem transplantare.
Persons quitting a business or profession in
which they have been long engaged, and had
been successful, and attempting some new
employment, are as little likely to succeed, as a
tree is to flourish, when removed from the soil
in which it had been long fixed.
Aranearum Telas texere.
Weaving of cobwebs, which persons are
said to do, who waste their time and money
in frivolous pursuits ; in procuring what will
be of no use when obtained : in collecting
* O
butterflies, cockle-shells, &c. " et stultus
labor est ineptiarum," and such like fooleries.
Laws also, which by the great are easily
evaded,
( 90 )
evaded, and which seem only made to entrap
the poor, are, by common consent, called cob-
web contrivances. They were so called by
Anarcharsis — "They catch," he said, "small
flies, but wasps and hornets break them with
impunity."
" Hence little villains oft submit to fate,
That great ones may enjoy the world in state."
Sat pulchra, si sat bona.
" Fair enough, if good enough, " for
"handsome is, who handsome does," and
"sat cito si sat bene," "soon enough, if
well enough," are proverbs of all ages, and all
countries, and need no explanation. " Her-
mosa es por cierto, la que es buena de su
cuerpo," the woman who is modest is suffi-
ciently handsome.
Harence mandas Semina. In Aqua vel in Saxis
semen tern fads.
Sowing your grain among stones, where
they cannot take root, in the water, or on
sand.
( 91 )
sand. " In aqua scribis, in harena sedificas,"
writing on water, or building on sand, with
many others, are phrases used by the Romans,
and are applicable to persons bestowing much
labour in effecting what is impossible to be
done, or heaping favours upon an ungrateful
person, from whom no return can be expected.
" Can the ^Ethiopian change his skin, or the
leopard his spots ?"
Later em lavas.
It is like washing bricks, which the more
you scour them, the more muddy they become:
meaning bricks made of clay, and not burnt,
but dried in the sun ; such as were used in
the East, and probably are so now, or " Laver
la te"te d'un ane," by which the French de-
signate such unavailing attempts. The pro-
verb may also be applied to persons, endea-
vouring by fictitious ornaments to make any
thing appear more beautiful and valuable than
it is, or by rhetorical flourishes to give a false
colour to any action.
Surdo
( 92 )
Surdo can is.
You are preaching to the deaf; to prepos-
sessed and prejudiced ears; to persons so be-
sotted and addicted to their vices, that they
will not listen to you, though your advice he
most suitable to them, and such as they can-
not reject, but to their manifest disadvantage.
" They are like to the deaf adder, which
stoppeth her ears, and refuseth to hear the
voice of the charmer, charm he never so
wisely." As the following narrative seems to
give an ingenious explanation of this passage
in the Psalms, it is here added. "There is a
kind of snake in India," Mr. Forbes says, in
his Oriental Memoirs, lately published, " which
is called the dancing snake. They are carried
in baskets throughout Hindostan, and procure
a maintenance for a set of people, who play a
few simple notes on the flute, with which the
snakes seem much delighted, and keep time
by a graceful motion of the head, erecting
about half their length from the ground, and
following the music with gentle curves, like
the undulating lines of a swan's neck. It is a
well attested fact, that when a house is in-
fested
( 93 )
fested with these snakes, and some others of
the coluber genus, which destroy poultry, and
small domestic animals, as also by the larger
serpents of the boa tribe, the musicians are
sent for, who, by playing on a flageolet, find
out their hiding places, and charm them to
destruction ; for no sooner do the snakes hear
the music, than they come from their retreat,
and are easily taken. I imagine," Mr. Forbes
says, " that these musical snakes were known
in Palestine, from the Psalmist comparing the
ungodly to ' the deaf adder, which stoppeth
her ears, and refuseth to hear the voice of the
charmer, charm he never so wisely.' When
the music ceaseth, the snakes appear motion-
less, but if not immediately covered up in the
basket, the spectators are liable to fatal acci-
dents. Among my drawings is that of a cobra
de capello, which danced for an hour on the
table, while I painted it, during which I fre-
quently handled it, to observe the beauty of
the spots, and especially the spectacles on the
hood, not doubting but that its venemous
fangs had been previously extracted. But the
next morning I was informed by my servant,,
that
that while purchasing some fruit, lie observed
the man who had been with me the preceding
evening, entertaining the country people, who
were sitting on the ground around him, with
his dancing snakes, when the animal that I
O '
had so often handled, darted suddenly at the
throat of a young woman, and inflicted a
wound, of which she died in about half an
hour."
Delph'mum nature doces, vel Aquilam volare.
Affecting to give information to persons on
subjects they are better acquainted with than
ourselves, is like teaching birds to fly, or fishes
to swim.
Malta cadant inter Calicem, supremaque Labra.
" Entre la bouche, et le verre,
Le vin souvent tombe a terre."
" Many things happen between the cup and
the lip," was the saying of a servant to his
master, whom he saw anxiously tending a
vine, from which he promised himself an abun-
dant produce of excellent liquor, of which,
however,
( 95 )
however, he was not permitted to partake ;
for, at the moment he was about to taste the
wine, the reward, as he thought, of his labour,
he was told that a boar had broke into his
vineyard, and was destroying his trees ; run-
ning hastily to drive away the beast, it turned
upon him, and killed him. We are hence
taught, not to be too sanguine in our hopes
of success, even in our best concerted projects,
it too often happening that they fail in pro-
ducing the intended advantages. " De la mano
a la boca, se pierde la sopa," is the same sen-
timent in Spanish. The adage may also be
-explained, as admonishing us " to take time
by the forelock," that is. not to let a present
opportunity, or advantage, to pass by, a similar
one may not again occur. " Strike, therefore,
while the iron is hot," and
" He that will not when he may,
When he will he shall have nay."
Incidis in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim.
Attempting to escape the rocks of Scylla,
we are ingulphed in the whirlpool of Cha-
ry bdis.
( 96 )
rybclis. The two opposite coasts of the strait
dividing Sicily and Italy, were anciently called
by these names, and as they were steep and
rocky, they appeared so formidable, and per-
haps occasioned so many ships to be wrecked,
that Homer makes Ulysses describe them as
two terrible monsters, that stood ready to
destroy any vessels that came within their
reach. All possible endeavours were therefore
used by mariners, to keep their ships in the
middle of the strait. The proverb is applied
to persons who, attempting to avoid one evil,
fall into another more grievous and insupport-
able ; who, attempting to rescue a part of their
property which they see in danger, lose both
their property and their lives. " It is falling,'"
\ve say, " out of the fryingpan into the fire,"
in which form the proverb has been adopted
by the French, the Italians, and the Spanish.
" Sauter de la poile, et se jetter dans les
braises." " Cader d'alla padella nelle bragie."
" Saltar de la sarten, y caer en las brasas,"
but of two evils we should choose the least.
" Meglio 6 dar la lana, che la pecora," better
lose the wool than the sheep.
The
The adage is used by Philip Gualtier, a
Flemish writer of the thirteenth century, in a
poem celebrating the conquests of Alexander
the Great. The lines are an apostrophe, ad-
dressed to Darius, who, flying from Alexander^
fell into the hands of Bessus, one of his gene-
rals.
• "Quo tendis inertem,
Rex periture, fugam ? nescis, lieu, perdite ! nescia
Quern fugias; hostes incurris, d'um fugis hostera.
Incidis in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim."
Menagiana, vol. 3. p. 130.
Whither, O unfortunate prince, do you bend
your unavailing flight ? you know not, alas,
from whom you are flying; attempting to
avoid one enemy, you fall into the hands of
another, more savage and destructive. Endea-
vouring to escape Chary bclis, you are wrecked
en the rocks of Scylla.
Flamma Fumo est proximo,.
If there were no fire, there could be no
smoke. " Common fame is seldom to blame."
All that we have heard may not be true, but
so much could not have been said, if there
H were
( 98 )
were no foundation. We should avoid the
first approach to vice, or danger; though small
at first, it may increase to an alarming magni-
tude. The smoke may soon be succeeded by
flame. He who would keep his morals un-
tainted, must not associate familiarly with the
debauched and wicked.
" Vice is a monster of such frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen ;
But seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first admire, next pity, then embrace."
The fox, when he first saw a lion, ran from
him in great terror, but meeting one a second,
and then a third time, he had courage enough
to approach, and salute him. The Spaniards
and the French use the proverb somewhat
differently. " Cerca le anda el humo, tras
la llama," and " II n'y a point de feu sans
fume"e/' where there is fire, there will be some
smoke; that is, where any foul action has been
committed, it will by some outlet or other
escape, and become known, "Murder will
out," we say.
( 99 )
Paupertas Sapientiam sortita est,
" La P overt a e la Madre chile Invenxione"
" Necessity is the Mother of Invention."
" Magister artis ingeniique largitor venter,"
venter, or the stomach, is the master of all
art, and bestower of genius and invention.
" Hunger," we therefore say, " will break
through stone walls." "The stomach," Rabelais
says, " only speaks by signs, but those signs
are more readily obeyed by every one, than
the statutes of senates, or the commands of
monarchs." To answer is useless, for " El
vientre ayuno, no oye ninguno," " the stomach
has no ears."
Persons who have no property but what is
procured by their industry, on which they
may subsist, will endeavour more diligently
to improve their understandings, than those
who, being amply endowed, find every thing
provided to their hands, without labour.
" Crosses are ladders that do lead to heaven."
Consonant to which the French say, " Vrent
au visage rend un homme sage," wind in a
man's face, that is, adversity, or trouble, makes
ii 2 .him
him wise; and, "a pobrcza no ay verguenca,"
poverty has no shame, that is-, want makes
men bold, and to descend to means, for their
subsistence, which, in better circumstances,
they would be ashamed to have recourse to*
This, more than all o^ther considerations,
should induce every one "Messe tenus propria
vivere," to live within their means, "to let
their purse be their master."
Bis Pueri Senes.
Ancient persons are twice children, or as
we say, " Once a man, and twice a child."
Age ordinarily induces a degree of imbecility,
both in the mind and body, resembling child-
hood. Persons in a very advanced age become
feeble and impotent, their legs tremble, oblig-
ing them to support themselves with a stick ;
their hands shake, so that they are unable to
cut their food, and at length of even carrying
it to their mouths. They become toothless,
and are obliged, like children, to be fed with
spoon-meats; their eyes become weak, incapa-
citating them from reading, and their organs
of
( 101 )
of hearing dull and obtuse, so that they can
no longer take a part in conversation. These
two sources of information heing cut off, the
mind, no longer solicited by the surrounding
objects, or excited by the acquisition of new
materials, becomes languid and inert ; the
traces of the knowledge it had acquired, be-
come faint, and are at length nearly oblite-
rated, and thus is induced a complete second
childhood, "and mere oblivion, sans teeth,
sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing."
" Ubi jam validis quassatum est viribus aevi
Corpus, et obtusis cecitlerunt viribus artus,
Claudicat ingenium, delirat linguaque mensque."
LUCRET. Lib.\\l. lin. 452.
" When age prevails,
And the quick vigour of each member fails,
The mind's brisk powers decrease, and waste apace,
And grave and reverend folly takes the place."
Trans, by CKEECII.
Crambe bis posita, Mors.
By frequent repetition, even the most plea-
sant and agreeable story tires, and at length
nauseates, as do also the most favourite viands.
The particular plant called Crambe by the
H 3 ancients
( 102 )
ancients is not now known. It was thought
to have the power of preventing the inebriat-
ing effects of wine, and hence we are told, a
portion of it, previously baked, was usually
taken by the /Egyptians, and some other
nations, before sitting down to their tables,
that they might indulge more freely in drink-
ing; but twice baked, or too often taken, it ex^
cited nausea and disgust, whence the proverb.
"Occidit miseros crambe repetita magistros." — JUVENAL,
To hear the same lesson, so oft repeated, is
the death of us poor masters.
Manum de tabula.
Desist, leave off correcting and amending,
"Nimia cura detent magis quam emendat,"
too much care may injure instead of improving
your work. " You should therefore let well
alone." Apelles, seeing Protogenes with too
much care and anxiety, labouring to give a
complete finishing to a picture, which he had
already made extremely beautiful, fearful lest
by such frequent touching, and retouching,
he
C 103 )
he should diminish, instead of heightening its
value, cried out " manum cle tabula." The
adage is of extensive application, being refer-
able to every kind of work, among others, to
this of explaining proverbs, which too much
labour, instead of elucidating, may render
obscure.
Veterem Injuriamferendo, invitas novam.
By quietly bearing, and putting up with
one affront, we often lay ourselves open to
fresh insults. Though humanity and tender-
ness towards our neighbours and associates,
and a disposition to overlook slight offences,
is highly commendable, and is becoming the
frailty of our nature; yet too great facility in
this point, is not only improper, but may in,
the end be highly injurious, even to the parties
whose offence we have overlooked. JEsop has
given us in one of his fables a story, which
may serve to illustrate this adage. " A boy
out of idleness and wantonness, throwing
stones at, and otherwise insulting him, he
had recourse, at first," he says, " to intreaties
n4 to
( 104 }
to induce him to desist: these failing, he gave
him a small piece of money, all, he told the
boy, he could spare ; at the same time he
shewed him a more wealthy person, who was
coining that way, and advised him to throw
stones at him, from whom he might expect a
much larger reward. The boy followed his
advice, but the rich man, instead of in treating,
or bribing him to desist, ordered his servants
to take him before a magistrate, by whom he
was severely punished. " Socrates, indeed,
seemed to be of a different opinion, when he
said, " If an ass kicks me, shall I strike him
again?" but this forbearance must not be car-
ried too far, for, according to the Italian pro-
verb, " Che pecora si fa, il lupo la mangia,"
and the French, " Qui se fait brebis, le loup
le mange," that is, he that makes himself a
sheep, shall be eaten by the wolf. If a strange
dog, going along the street, claps his tail
between his1 legs, and runs away, every cur
will snap at him ; but, if he turns upon them,
and gives a counter snarl, they will let him go
on without further molestation.
Ansam
( 105 )
Ansam qucerere.
Seeking a handle or opportunity for break-
ing an agreement into which any one may
have improvidently entered, or an occasion
for quarrelling ; and to persons of a litigious
disposition, very trifling causes M7511 afford han-
dle sufficient for the purpose. The phrase is
used by us in as many ways, as it was formerly
among the Romans. You know the temper
of the man, be careful that you give him no
handle, no ground for cavilling, though that
may be difficult, as a man so disposed, will
make a handle of any thing. " When we
have determined to beat a dog, the first hedge
we come to will furnish us with a stick for
the purpose."
Oleum et operam perdere.
Losing both oil and labour, which those
were said to do, who had employed much
time, labour, study, and expense, in endea-
vouring to attain an object, without being
able to effect their purpose. Those who con-
tended at the public games among the an-
cients,
( 106 )
cients, were used to anoint their limbs with
oil, previous to their entering on the contest ;
if they were conquered therefore they lost
both oil and labour ; as those did who failed
in the acquisition of knowledge, their re-
searches being principally carried on by the
light of a lamp; whence the adage, which the
following story may serve further to illustrate:
" A man having a suit at law, sent to the
judge as a present a vessel of oil; his antago-
nist, that he might be even with him, sent a
well fatted pig, which turned the scale in his
favour and gained him the cause : the first
man complaining and reminding the judge of
the present he had sent him ; true, said the
judge, but a great hog burst into the room
and overturned the vessel, and so both the oil
and labour were lost."
Mortuum Jlagellas.
It is flogging a dead man, or one who re-
gards your censures as little as do the dead,
may be said to any one reproving a person
who
( 107 )
who is incorrigibly wicked, and who has lost
all sense of shame or decency : or by persons
charged with the commission of crimes of
which they know themselves to be innocent.
Nocumentum, Docitmentum.
" Trouble teaches." Adopted probably for
its jingle, like " harm watch, harm catch ;" and
many more in our language, and like them
containing an useful precept. The sense is,
that it is the part of wisdom or prudence to
profit by our mischances: those who have been
plundered by servants or defrauded by bad
customers, become more cautious in securing
their property, and in inquiring more diligent-
ly into the character of the persons to whom
they give credit, that they are not wasteful
and extravagant spendthrifts, inattentive to
business, or persons of depraved morals. A
merchant who had suffered much in this way
determined at length that he would give no
credit, he therefore put out a sign representing
a fire in which were a number of account
books
( 108 )
books burning; when any one wanted credit,
he told them it was impossible he could give
it, his books being burnt. Trouble ajso and
distress leads us to reflect upon our past con-
duct, and to reform what is amiss. " Periissem
nisi periissem," if I had not suffered, I had
been undone. " If thou be in woe, sorrow,
want, pain, or distress, remember that God
chastiseth them whom he loveth, and that
they that so\v in tears shall reap in joy. As
the furnace proveth the potter's vessel, so doth
trouble and vexation try men's thoughts."
" Ecce spectaculum Deo dignum, vir fortis
mala fortuna compositus," behold a spectacle
worthy of God, a good man contending with
adversity.
Nuces relinquere,
Abandon or throw away your nuts : that is,
leave off childish amusements, and addict your-
self to employments that are more manly and
better suited to your age and present situa-
tion in life. The adage is said to be derived
from
( 109 )
from the bridegroom scattering nuts when
leading his spouse to the temple; intimating
that he now purposed to give up boyish
sports, among which playing with nuts, was
not unfrequent. Those who did not do so,
were said " redire ad nuces," or " nuces repe-
tere," to return to their playthings, to be-
come children again.
sum, non CEdipus.
I am Davus, not CEdipus; that is, I am a
man of plain understanding and no conjuror,
or wizard, may be said to persons speaking
enigmatically or more finely than the subject
requires : or whom we do not wish to under-
stand, or would oblige to be more explicit than
they are inclined or intend to be. CEdipus was
famed, we are told, for expounding the riddle
of the Sphinx, which no one before him had
been able to explain.
Ex Harend Funiculum nectis.
It is like making a rope of sand ; labouring
to
( HO )
to do what can by no art be effected ; this may
be said to persons bringing together in the way
of argument, things not having the least co-
herence or connection. It is like attempting
" jungere vulpes," to yoke foxes; or u mulgere
hircum," to milk a he-goat.
Latum Unguem.
There's not the breadth of a nail, or of a
straw, or of a hair, of difference between them,
and yet even for that trifle, they keep up the
contention and with no small degree of acri-
mony.
" But in the way of bargain, mark ye me,
I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair!" — Henry IV.
Non tarn Ovum Ovo simile.
He is as like his brother as one egg is to
another. The Latins have numerous adages
of this kind, consisting of a simple compari-
son : it \vas thought right to transplant a few
of them here, particularly such as have cor-
respondent phrases in our language.
Magis
( in )
Magis mutus quam Pisces.
" Muet comme un poisson," as mute as a
fish. The opposite to this is
Turtura loquacior.
More loquacious than the turtle-dove. We
say, perhaps more pertinently, to great chat-
terers, " you prate like a parrot or a magpye,"
which are still more famed for garrulity, than
the turtle-dove, " Quse tamen, non ore tan-
turn, sed etiam postica corporis parte clamare
fertur."
OU(E Amicitia.
Friends to the table. Persons attached to
the fortune, not to the beauty or dispositions
of their mistresses or friends, were so called.
" Te putat ille SUJE captum nidore culinse,
Nee mate conjectat." — JUVENAL.
He thinks you are more attracted by the smell
of his kitchen, than by affection to his person
or regard to his interest, and is not mistaken.
" Fervet olla, vivit amicitia," for such friend-
ship
ship only lasts while the pot continues ttf
boil.
" Amigo del buen tiempo, mudase con ei viento,"
those who are only friends to your good for-*
tune, change with the wind. Young men of
fortune have abundance of such friends, who
are very ready in assisting to disburthen them
of their wealth ; when that is effected, they
become more shy in their attendance, and at
length leave them to reflect at their leisure on
O
the folly of their conduct.
" If Fortune wrap thee warm,
Then friends about thee swarm,
Like bees about a honey-pot :
But, if dame Fortune frown,
And cast thee fairly down,
By Jove thou may'st lie there and rot."
Nat Lee is said to have diverted himself with
singing this song when in Bethlehem. The
sentiment is not ill expressed by our homely
proverb, " no longer pipe, no longer dance."
Multa novit Fitlpes, sed Felis unum magnum.
A fox bragging of the number of tricks
and
( US )
and shifts he occasionally used to escape tile
hounds, a cat that was present, observed that
she had hut one, which was to climb up the
nearest tree or building, and that being com-
pletely effectual was of more value than all
the stratagems of the fo^ which did not al-
ways preserve him from the huntsmen. The
proverb teaches that it is better to rely on
the advice of one sensible friend, than to have
recourse to many whose contrary and discor-
dant opinions would be more likely to perplex
and confound, than to teach us how to escape
from our difficulties. When also we would
convince or persuade, it is better ordinarily
to depend on one powerful argument, than to
use a variety of petty ones ; as " too many
cooks," are said, to " spoil the broth." Against
this tenet, however, we have several apo-
thegms equally accredited, as " vis unita for-
tior," the united power of many agents is
stronger than that of one ; which is probably
as true applied to the understanding as to
bodily strength ; so " quae non prosunt sin-
gula, juncta juvant," though each argument
may be individually weak, yet a number of
i them
them made to bear upon the same point
may be successful. Solomon tells us also,
that " in the multitude of counsel there 13
safety."
Ars varia Vulpi, ast una Echino maxima.
The hedge-hog, for so Erasmus understands
it, though the echinus is properly a marine
animal, escapes its enemies by rolling itself
up in the form of a ball, covered with sharp
spines or thorns which they dare not take
hold of. The adage admits the same expla-
nation as the last.
Auribus Lupum teneo.
I have taken a wolf by the ears, whom I
can with difficulty hold, and dare not let go
lest he tear me in pieces. It may be said
when any one has so entangled himself in
a business, that he can neither go on with
it satisfactorily, nor give it up without suffer,
ing considerable damage : or by one engaged
to
to a mistress, whom lie is afraid to marry on
account of her ill-humour, and from the vio-
lence of his affection he is incapable of leaving.
Macbeth, after the murder of Banquo, and
before he had given himself to the unlawful
commerce with supernatural agents, says,
" I am in blood
Stept in so far, that should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er/'
To the same mode of reasoning we owe half
the robberies and murders that are committed
every year. Martial's description of a captious
but extremely agreeable character may serve
as a further illustration of this adage :
" Difficilis, facilis, jucundus, acerbus es idem,
Nee tecum possum vivere, nee sine te,"
which has thus been translated,
" In all thy humours whether grave or mellow,
Thou 'rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow,
Hast so much wit, and mirth, and spleen about thee.
That there's no living with thee nor without thee."
Those who go to law may be said to hold a
wolf by the ears, or they are like sheep taking
shelter under a hedge of thorns, whence they
will not escape without losing the half of their
i 2 fleeces.
fleeces. Formerly a large estate was conveyed
away by a piece of parchment that would not
hold twenty short lines, which is now hardly
done with twenty skins. This multiplying of
words is pretended to be done for greater
security, but has the contrary effect, " certa
sunt paucis," certainty, or freedom from
doubt is found where there are fewest words.
Ne Hercules quidem adversus duos.
Even Hercules could not contend success-
fully against two, equally strong as himself.
" Two to one are odds at football," may be
said by any one who has been censured for
not doing what, circumstanced as he was, it
was impossible he should perform. The adage
may with equal propriety be applied to the
exertions of the mind ; where much has been
done well, small errors should not be censured
with asperity. A great philosopher should
not be expected to be also a poet, or a man
skilled in one art, to be equally expert in
another. The same sentiment is contained in
Units
Unus Fir, nullus Vir.
From one man unaided by advice, or other
assistance, no great exertion, or the perform-
ance of no very difficult, or intricate business
should be expected. " Two heads are better
than one, or why do folks marry ?"
Nihil ad Versum.
This is not to the purpose, said when a per-
son, attempting to explain any thing, wanders
from the subject, which he leaves more per-
plexed than when he began. The adage is
supposed to have taken its rise from the per-
formers on the stage attempting to represent,
by gesticulation, the sense of the part recited,
in the manner, perhaps, of our pantomime.
Failing in the attempt, this adage, " Nihil ad
versum," was applied ; intimating that the
action did not correspond with the sense, or
meaning of the verse. Or it may refer to the
oracles, which were not unfrequently delivered
in verse, when the event was not consonant
to the prediction.
i 3 Nihil
Nihil ad Fides,
Was used to be applied to persons, whose
manners and conversation, or whose precepts
and mode of living were not consistent, and
who, not very gracefully, tell us, " We should
<Jo as they say, not as they do."
Asinus in Unguent o>
May be said of a clown living in the midst
of delicacies he knows not how to use or
enjoy ; or affecting the company of men of
letters, whose conversation he is incapable of
understanding. Such things suiting him as ill
as perfumes do an ass. " No es la miel para
la boca del asno," honey is not fit for the
mouth of an ass. " Chantez a. 1'ane, il vous
fera des pets."
Asinus inter Simias.
The ass has fallen into the company of
apes, was said when a man of mild and easy
manners, and of weak understanding, was
§een associating with petulant and illnatured
persons,
( "9 )
persons, who insulted, and turned him to
ridicule. Such wanton petulance is well re-
proved by the following :
" Set not thy foot to make the blind to fall,
Nor wilfully offend thy weaker brother ;
Nor wound the dead with the tongue's bitter gall,
Neither rejoice thou in the fall of other."
Of the same kind is " Noctua inter cornices,"
the owl is among ravens, there being the same
dissimilarity between them, as between the
ass and the ape.
„ _
Alii sementemfaciunt, alii metent.
One man labours and another reaps the pro-
fit, or one man commits the crime but another
suffers the punishment. " II bat le buisson
sans prendre 1'oisillon." " One man beats the
bush, and another catches the bird." This
proverb was used, we are told, by Henry the
Fifth, at the siege of Orleans. When the
citizens would have delivered the town to the
Duke of Burgundy, who was in the English
C3 v * O
camp, the king said, " Shall I beat the bush,
and another take the bird ?" no such matter.
i 4 These
( 120 )
These words did so offend the Duke of Bur-
gundy, that he made a peace with the French,
and withdrew his force from the English.
" Uno levanta la caza, y otro la mata," one
man starts the game, and another kills it.
Aliam quercum excute.
Go shake some other tree, you have reaped
sufficient profit, or taken fruit enough from
this. The adage may be used by persons who
have been liberal in assisting any one who still
continues to solicit them: Go to some other
friend, I have done my part. It may also be
used in the way of admonishing any one to
cease exerting himself in any course or busi-
ness from which lie has already gained all
the advantage it is likely to produce, or to
change or dismiss an instructor from whom
o
he has learned all that he is capable of teach-
ing.
In the early ages of the world, when acorns
formed a material part of our sustenance,
there were persons who made it their business
to collect them. When one of these was seen
looking
looking up to a tree, those who observed him
would say, " Aliam quercum excute," go to
some other tree, this has been stripped before,
which being often repeated, came at length to
be used as a proverb.
Pliny tells us that even in his time, many
nations made the acorn a part of their diet,
not having been instructea in the method of
cultivating wheat, or other grain, and Erasmus
says that acorns were considered by the Span-
iards as a dainty, and were served up as a part
of the dessert, in which manner we find them
introduced by the goatherds in Don Quixote.
Fucumjacere.
" Hazer lo bianco negro, y lo negro bianco."
To make white black, and black white.
To deceive with false pretences, or to mis-
represent any matter, and make it appear
different to what it is, was called painting or
discolouring the subject; and as a species of
fucus was anciently used as a dye, persons so
disguising what they treated of, were said
" fucum facere," to give a false colour to it.
The phrase was also applied to women paint-
ing
( 122 )
ing their faces, and making themselves more
fair than nature intended them, whence we
learn that this practice was as usual and
fashionable among the Greeks and Romans,
as it is now among our own fair country-
women. " Visage farde " among the French
means a painted, dissembled, or false c
tenance.
Album Calculum adders.
To approve, to put in a white stone. In
popular assemblies among the ancients, the
persons who had a right to vote, had a white
and a black stone given them. If they agreed
to the proposition, or absolved the person
accused of any crime, they put the white
stone into the urn ; if they disapproved of the
proposal, or thought the person accused guil-
ty, the black one. Hence it is now usual to
say, when a person who has been proposed as
a member of any of our societies, is rejected,
that " he was black balled," though, as it
often happens, neither black nor white balls
were used in the ballot.
" Mos
( 123 )
if Mos erat antiquis niveis atrisque capillis,
JJis daranare reos, illis absolvere culpa." OVID,
Creta vet Carbone notare.
To make a white or a black line, with
chalk, or with charcoal, against the name of
any one, was in like manner used to denote
approbation, or disapproval of his conduct.
Persius, addressing his friend Plotius Macrinus
on his birthday, says,
" Hunc, Macrine, diem numera meliore capillo,
Qui tibi labentes apponit candido annos."
ft Let this auspicious morning be expressed,
With a white stone, distinguished from the rest;
White as thy fame, and as thy honor clear ;
And let new joys attend on thy new added year."
Stylum verfcre.
To change or correct the style or language.
The ancients used tables covered with a coat
of wax, on which they wrote with a style, a
piece of iron, sharp, or pointed at the end, with
which they made the letters, and blunt or flat
at
( 124 )
at the other end, which they used for ob-
literating, or rubbing out what they had
written, either when they purposed making
any alteration, or to employ the table for
other writings. By a good or bad style, they
meant therefore at first, simply to denote the
quality of the instrument with which they
wrote. The term was afterwards applied me-
taphorically to the language, in which sense
it is now used.
The reader may not be displeased, as not
alien to the subject, at seeing the following
short account of the different substances that
were employed for writing on, before the art
of making paper from linen rags was discover-
ed. Among the earliest we find tables of
wood made smooth, and covered with wax, as
has been noted above. But as what was
written on wax might easily be defaced, leaves
of the papyrus, a species of flag, which grew
in great abundance in the marshes of Egypt,
were dryed, and by a particular process pre-
pared for the purpose. On these the letters
were engraved with an instrument similar to
that made use of to write on wax. Leaves so
prepared
( 125 )
prepared were called charta, from a city of
Tyre of that name, near which they were also
found. Though the practice of using the
papyrus has been discontinued for many ages,
yet the terms folia leaves, and charta paper,
derived from it, are still retained. As in
writing a treatise, a great number of these
leaves were required, they were connected,
and kept together by making a hole, and
passing a string through each of them. With
the same string, passed several times around
them, they were confined to prevent their
separating, and being injured or lost, when no
one was reading, or using them, and thence,
Pancirollus thinks, a bundle of them obtained
the name of volumen, or a volume. Another
article used for the purpose, was the inner
bark of certain trees. This was prepared by
beating it, and then incorporating it with a
solution of gum arable. As the inner bark of
trees is called liber, the volumes, or books,
were thence called libri, a name they still re-
tain. Vellum, the last substance to be men-
tioned, is said to owe its origin to the follow-
^
ing circumstance : Eumenes, king of Per-
gamus,
gamus, being' desirous of forming- a library*
that should equal or exceed in number of
volumes, the famed library at Alexandria,
Ptolemy, with a view of rendering his design
abortive, prohibited the exportation of the
papyrus. This exciting the industry of some
artists in the court of Eumenes, they con-
trived a method of preparing the skins of
sheep for the purpose, and it was called
vellum, from vellus a skin, and parchment,
from Pergamus, the place where the art of pre-
paring it was discovered, or if not discovered,
it was there improved, and first brought into
general use.
Umbram suam metuere.
lie is afraid of his own shadow, said of per*
sons \viio are so childishly timid, that they
cannot be prevailed on to undertake the
easiest, and most obviously useful business,
fearing lest it should fail. To such subjects,
and to such as live in a state of constant
alarm, fearing almost impossible accidents,
the following is also applicable.
Quid
( 127 )
Quid si Cesium ruat !
What if the sky should fall ! " When the
sky falls," we say jocularly, " then we may
catch larks."
Funem abrumpere, nimium fendendo.
The chord stretched too tight will break,
and the mind kept too long, and too intensely
meditating on one subject, loses its spring
and becomes feeble.
" Cito rumpas arcum, semper si tensimi habueris,
At si laxaris, cum voles, utilis erit."
The mind must be occasionally relieved
from its studies by amusement, to enable it to
recover its strength, af?d render it fit for fur-
ther exertion. The adage also admonishes,
that we should not make too frequent appli-
cation for assistance, to persons of liberal
dispositions, who have already done as much
as was convenient, or proper, that " we should
not spur a willing horse."
Quicgidd
Quicquid in Buccam, vel in Linguam t-enerit,
ojfundere.
" He says whatever comes uppermost," or
into his mind, but, " habla la boca, con qua
paga la coca," " the tongue speaks at the
head's cost." This is said of careless and
inconsiderate persons, who think they shew
their bravery by saying whatever they please,
regardless whom they may offend ; but the
Spaniard again says, " hablar sin pensar, es
tirar sin encarar," " speaking without think-
ing, is shooting without taking aim," and
he who says all he has a mind to say, must
expect to be told what he has no mind to
hear. In a more honorable way, the adage
applies to persons of integrity, who are inge-
nuous, and open, and in all concerns of busi-
ness, will speak the truth. But even from
such it is not always well received.
" Whoever speaks with plain sincerity,
Is eyed by Fortune with a look askant;
While some low fawning sycophant
Wears every day a new attire,
The friends of verity
Go naked as the goddess they adrhire."
Ctir*
( 129 )
Citra Pulverem, vel citra Laborem.
Obtaining one's end without labour, or
meeting with success far beyond our endea-
vours. The adage was applied to fortunate
persons, who were more prosperous than might
have been expected from the little care and
attention they paid to their business. " Citra
arationem, citraque sementem," their lands
proving productive, though but little cul-
tivated.
There are men, with whom every scheme
or project in which they are engaged succeed,
though they are not remarkable either for
diligence or capacity. Such men are said,
according to a familiar English proverb, " to
be born with a silver spoon in their mouths."
And " give a man luck," we say, " and throw
him into the sea." From the not un frequent
occurrences of such events, arises also the
saying, " E meglio esser fortunato chesavio,"
" It is better to be born fortunate than wise ;"
also, " Gutta fortune pras dolio sapientiie,"
the sense of which the French give in the fol-
lowing, " Mieux vaut une once de fortune,
K qu'une
( 130 )
qiftme iivre de sagesse," an ounce of good
fortune is better than a pound of wisdom.
The proverb, " citra pulverem," without dust,
seems to have taken its rise from the custom
of sprinkling the bodies of wrestlers with
dust, having first anointed them with oil.
This was done with the view of stopping the
pores, to prevent their being exhausted by
perspiring too profusely. Antisthenes, one of
the speakers in the Dialogue called the Ban-
quet, of Xenophon, says, in allusion to this
custom, " he might have as much land, per-
haps, as would furnish a sufficiency of dust,
to cover the body of a wrestler." Sir Francis
Bacon, among his expedients for prolonging
life, recommends taking daily small doses of
nitre, to retard the circulation of the blood,
and anointing the body with oil, to moderate
the perspiration. Hist. Vitas et Mortis.
Lydius Lapis, sive Heradius Lapis.
A stone so called from Heraclea a city in
Lydia, from whence it was brought. It was
used
used to try pieces of metal, with the view of
discovering whether they were gold, or silver,
or what portion of those precious metals were
contained in them, and the adage may be
applied, metaphorically, to persons of acute
sense, and sound judgment,- who are able to
solve difficult, and intricate problems, or
questions.
Ad Amussim.
Made exactly by rule; said of any piece of
work that is perfectly and correctly finished,
or of a literary composition, in which the
subject is judiciously and accurately treated.
A d Unguem.
Perfectly smooth, and polished. The phrase
takes its rise from the workmen's passing their
nail over a piece of work, to find if any in-
equalities remain.
Incudi redder e.
Returned to the anvil, may be applied to
K 2 any
( 132 )
any work that is re-considered, and carefully
corrected and improved.
Indignus qui illl Matellam porrigat.
This is used where there is a very great
difference in the qualities and dispositions of
the persons compared, and means, that the
one is not fit to take off the shoes, or perform
the meanest offices for the other.
" Dispeream bi tu Pyladi prsestare matellam,
Dignus es, aut porcos pascere Pirithoi."
May I die, if you are worthy to be employed
in feeding his hogs, or even in services more
sordid and humiliating.
etiam est Holitor valde opportuna lo-
quutus.
Even the opinion of a clown may be at-
tended to with advantage. "Sa?pe est etiam
sub pallio sordido sapientia," for wisdom not
unfrequently exists under a squalid garment.
" Tierra negra buen pan lleva," black land
produces white bread, and " Debaxo de una
mala capa, hay buen bebedo," under an old
and
( 133 )
and tattered cloak, there may be a good
drinker, that is, a man of understanding. The
Spaniards say, when an old man, and with
them old and wise seem to be synonymous,
ceases to drink, he will soon cease to live.
"Quando el viejo no puede beber, la huessa le
pueden hazer," and " Quixadas sin barbas, no
merecen ser honradas," chins without beards
deserve no honour, which is only clue to age.
Scepe etiam stultus fuit opportuna loquutus,
as Erasmus corrects the adage, that is, Even a
fool may frequently give good advice, which
means no more, than that as a liar may some-
times speak the truth, so may a fool utter a
wise sentence. Rabelais had perhaps an eye
to this adage, when he made Panurge take
the advice of a fool on the subject of his
marriage.
Leonem Larva terres.
Would you frighten a lion with a vizor or
mask, may be said to weak and simple persons,
attempting by noise and blustering, to terrify
and alarm those who are greatly their superiors
*3 in
( 134 )
in strength and courage. " Do you think I
M'as born in a wood to be scared by an owl ?"
" Demens! qui nimbos et non imitabile fulmen,
.Ere, et cornipedum cursu simularat equurum."
Senseless man ! who could strive to imitate
the storms and inimitable thunder of Jupiter,
with the clatter of brazen cymbals, and the
tramp of horses.
Salem et Mensam ne pr&tereas.
You must not neglect those who have been
entertained at your table, or with whom you
have eaten salt. This being contrary to the
laws of hospitality. Salt, from its power of pre-
serving bodies from putrefaction, was thought
to have something in it of a divine nature,
and was thence adopted as a symbol of per-
petuity, and made use of as a mean to conci-
liate friendship. In Ezra, we read, " we are
salted with the salt of the palace," meaning,
we are there nourished and supported ; and
our Saviour calls his disciples " the salt of the
earth," sent to preserve it, or to cure men of
their corruption. The adage means the same
as
( 135 )
as "Ne negligas amicitias consuetudinem, aut
violes jura ejusdem." you must not omit the
usages, or violate the rights of friendship.
The dread which many of our good women
feel on overturning a salt-cellar, is doubtless
a relict of the veneration in which this sub-
stance was anciently held. The ill omen which
such an accident portends, is to be averted by
throwing a few grains of the salt over one's
shoulder; perhaps also the privilege which salt
has obtained, of being made a convertible
term for wit, derives its origin from the same
source. The French say of two persons whose
intimacy is not likely to be of long duration,
" Elles ne mangeront pas un minot de sel
ensemble," they will not eat a bushel of salt
together. A late envoy from Tripoli, having
recommended to the academy in Sweden, to
send some of their members to examine the
plants and other productions of his country,
said, " that in return for the bread and salt he
had received among them, he would give every
assistance in his power, in forwarding their
inquiries." The Germans held in the same
respect, persons with whom they had partici-
K 4 patetl
( 136 )
patecl in the pleasure of drinking wine, and
time has not diminished in them, their reve-
rence for this delightful beverage.
Ne quicquam sapit, qui sibi non sapit.
The man is not to be esteemed wise, who is
not wise or prudent in the management of his
own concerns, who, intent on the business
of others, suffers his own to fall to decay.
On the other hand, the selfish man, whose
thoughts are solely employed in advancing
his own interest, " who would set his neigh-
bour's house on fire, merely to roast his eggs,"
is still more to be blamed. " It is a poor
centre of a man's actions," Lord Verulam
says, " himself, and it does not ordinarily
succeed well with such persons; for, as they
have all their lives sacrificed to themselves,
they become in the end sacrifices to the
inconstancy of fortune, whose wings they
thought by their self- wisdom to have pini-
oned." Still, however, we must take care,
" not to bulge our own vessel, in attempting
to raise that of our neighbour," for, "La carita
comincia
( 137 )
comincia prima da se steffo," chanty begins
at home.
Neque Mel, neque Apes.
No bees, no honey. Every convenience
hath its concomitant inconvenience; if we are
averse to bearing the one, we ought not to
expect to enjoy the other. " If we would
have eggs, we must bear with the cackling of
the hen." " Non s' e rosa senza spine," the
rose has its prickles, and the bee its sting,
their sweets therefore are not to be obtained
without some hazard.
" Feras quod laedit, ut quod prodest perferas."
" You must bear pain, if you look for gain."
" Dii nobis laboribus omnia vendunt," the
goods of fortune are not given, but sold to
us ; that is, they are only to be attained by
labour and industry, and yet we say, " He
pays clear for honey, that licks it from the
thorn."
Facile
( 138 )
Facile qiium valemus, recta Consilia JE grot is
damns.
When free from trouble ourselves, we readily
give advice to those who are afflicted, which
in a similar situation, would not occur to us,
or probably we should not be disposed to
follow, though admonished to it by our nearest
friends
" "Pis each man's office to speak patience
To those who wring under the load of sorrow;
But no man's virtue or sufficiency
To be so moral, when lie shall endure
The like himself."
The Oracle being asked, what was the most
difficult thiny;? answered, "to know our-
O *
selves." What the most easy? "to give
advice to others."
In monendo sapimus omnes, verum ubi
Peccamus ipsi, non videmus propria."
For though we easily espy the faults of others,
and are very ready in admonishing them, yet
we do not easily admit that we are guilty of
similar errors, and are thence apt to consider
fthe admonition of our friends, as impertinent,
and unnecessary.
" Peras
( 139 )
" Peras iraposuit Jupiter nobis duas,
Propriis repletam vitiis, post tergurn dedit,
Alienis ante pectus suspendit gravem.
Hac re, videre nostra mala non possumus,
Alii siraul delinquunt censores sumus."
Jupiter gives to each of us, the Poet says, two
wallets, the one filled with the errors of our
neighbours, the other with our own. That
containing the errors of our neighbours, hangs
to our breasts, but that filled with our own,
rests on our backs. Hence it is, that though
we are well acquainted with the vices of others,
yet we are commonly ignorant of those prac-
tised by ourselves.
Quod supra nos, nihll ad nos.
This was a saying of Socrates, intimating
that we should not trouble ourselves by in-
quiring into matters that do not concern us;
into mysteries that are beyond our compre-
hension ; as, how the heavens and the earth
were formed ; whether, or by whom, the stars
were inhabited ; how far distant from us are
the Pleiades, or any other of the constellations ;
the
( 140 )
the depth of the sea; the nature of space; or
whether there exists such a thing as pure
space ; the mystery of the Trinity, which the
boy told St. Austin, " he would understand,
then, when he should be able to lave the sea
dry," or numerous other similar inquiries,
which would be of little use if they could
be discovered, but upon which many volumes
have been written, neglecting, in the mean
while, to inquire what might make men more
quiet, contented, and happy ; or might tend
to remove the misery and distress with which
the world is overwhelmed.
Qua infra nos, nihil ad nos.
As we are admonished by the preceding
aphorism, not to employ our minds too sedu-
lously in acquiring a knowledge of things
placed far beyond our reach, by this we are
advised not with too much anxiety to seek
after worldly wealth, as large and splendid
houses, rich furniture, clothes, and diet, which,
as they contribute little or nothing to our
happiness, should be deemed unworthy our
regard.
Refricarc
( 141 )
Refrkare Cicatrlcem.
To open a wound afresh, which had been
but lately skinned over, and is therefore very
susceptible of injury ; metaphorically, to re-
mind any one of a past misfortune. It is a
mark of absence of mind, inattention, or ill-
nature, to revive in conversation the memory
of circumstances, in which any of the com-
pany had been concerned, and which had been
the subject of much distress and uneasiness to
them. " No se ha de mentar la soga, en casa
del ahorcado," we should not talk of a halter,
in a house whence any one had been hanged.
" Refricare memoriam," to rub up the memory
of any one," who is disposed to forget his en-
gagement, or promise.
Nullus Hits Nasus est, et, obesce Naris Homo.
They have no nose, or they would have
smelt it out. They are dull, heavy, stupid,
void of ingenuity or sagacity. " Emunctre
naris homo," that is, he is a man of a clear
head, of quick sense, and sound judgment.
The
( 142 )
The sense of smelling has perhaps been taken,
preferably to any of the other senses, though
they are all occasionally used, to denote the
perfection or imperfection of the understand-
ing, from observing the different value that is
put upon dogs, in proportion as they have
this sense more or less perfect. " Olet lucer-
nam," it smells of the lamp, is said of any
work on which much pains have been be-
stowed to make it perfect. " Mener par le
nez," to lead any one by the nose ; or, to have
such influence over him, as to make him say,
do, or believe, whatever we please.
JEdibus in nostris, qucK prava, aut recta
gerantur.
Look to your own household, see that no
disorders prevail there. Before we employ our
minds on objects that do not concern us, or
in studies from which no profit can be ob-
tained, we should see that all is well at home,
that there are no disorders to be corrected,
which neglected may occasion mischief. He
who neglects this may be said to be,
" Procul
( 143 )
" Procul videns, sed cominus videns nihil."
Looking after distant objects, which do not
concern him, and neglecting those that are at
hand, and in which he is nearly interested.
The astrologer who pretended to tell the for-
tunes of his neighbours, did not see the pit
which lay at his feet, and into which he fell.
" Tendens in alta, amice, terrain non vides,
Cupidus futuri, fis rudis praebentium."
Intent on examining the stars, in which you
had no concern, you neglected what lay at
your feet. Too desirous of looking into the
future, you saw nothing of the disaster imme-
diately threatening you.
In $e descendere.
This is to the same purport as the last adage,
and there are many more inculcating the same
doctrine, that we should be more careful in ex-
amining into our own conduct, and less curious
in inquiring into, and censuring the defects of
others. " Rarum est enim ut satis se quisque
vereatur," for there are few men who have so
much reverence for themselves, as to avoid
doing
( 144 )
i
doing wrong from the fear of self-reproach.
The silent and internal questioning our own
secret motives for action, would lead us to
set a true value on our conduct, by directing
us to the springs from whence it proceeded.
It would besides afford a resource to hours
that a man may find heavy on his hands, and
thus employed, he may boldly say with the
philosopher, that he is " nunquam minus
solus, quam cum solus," he is never less alone
than when alone.
<( Ut nemo in sese tentat descendere nemo,
Sed praecedenti spectatur mantica tergo.''
How little solicitous we are in inquiring into
our own errors, and how intent on espying
those of our neighbours.
Festucam ex alterius Oculo ejicere.
Solicitous to remove a small defect from the
eye of your neighbour, regardless of a much
greater one in your own. But, " thou fool,
first take the beam from thine own eye, and
then thou mayest see clearly to remove the
mote from thy neighbour's eye."
" Qui
" Qui ne tuberibus propriis offendat amicum
Postulat, ignoscat verrucis illius."
He who requires of his friend that he should
not notice his greater blemishes, should be
careful not to censure smaller errors that he
may discern in him.
Te cum habita, and
Infra tuam Pelliculam te confine.
Be contented with your own skin. An ass
having put on the skin of a lion, for a time
struck terror into all who beheld him, but the
cheat being at length discovered, he was hoot-
ed, and laughed at, and then cudgelled to death.
The ancients seem to hav thought that they
could not too frequently or too seriously in-
culcate the necessity of turning our attention
to ourselves. Look, the adage intimates, into
your own affairs : live as becomes your cir-
cumstances and fortune, and do not model
your expenses by those of persons of much
larger estates : " on doit avoir la robe selon le
froid," we should cut our coat according to
our cloth ; " stretch your arm no further
L than
( 146 )
than your sleeve will reach ;" and " let your
purse be your master." This may be used to
restrain those whose notions are too lofty and
aspiring, who hazard what they actually pos-
sess in hunting after an increase of fortune, or
of preferment, which, if acquired, would add
little to their comfort, for " honour and ease
are seldom bed-fellows," and, " he that in-
creaseshis riches increases his sorrow." Though
the world is indulgent enough to look upon
the debaucheries and even the vices of the
wealthy with complacency, yet when men in
inferior situations presume to follow their ex-
amples, they are always held in extreme con-
tempt. The ass attempting to imitate the
playfulness and familiarity of the spaniel, in-
stead of caresses met with a cudgel.
Nosce te ipsiim.
Know thyself. If men would search diligent*
ly their owi\minds,and examine minutely their
thoughts and actions, they would be more cau-
tious in censuring the conduct of others, as
they would find in themselves abundantly suf-
ficient
( 147 )
ficient cause for reproof. " It is a good horse
that never stumbles ;" and he is a good man
indeed who cannot reproach himself with nu-
merous slips and errors. " Every bean has its
black," and every man his follies and vices.
The adage also teaches us to set a proper
value upon ourselves, and to be careful not to
do any thing that may degrade us. It is not
known to whom we are indebted for this
golden rule ; we only learn that it is of very
long standing, and was held in such high es-
timation by the ancients, that it was placed
over the doors of their temples, and it was
also supposed by them, that " E coelo descen-
dit," it came down from heaven.
" ' Man know thyself !' this precept from on high.
Came down, imagined by the Deity ;
Oh! be the words indelibly imprest
On the live tablet of each human breast.
Through every change of many colour'd life,
Whether thou seek'st a blessing in a wife ;
Or in the senate dost aspire to stand
'Mid holy Wisdom's venerable band,
Still from the Gods forget not to implore
Self-knowledge, for thy bosom's monitor."
HODGSON'S Juvenal.
i-2 Ne
( 148 )
Ne quid nimis.
Too much even of the best of things will
tire.
" The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in its own deliciousness."
The story that pleased when first heard, by
frequent repetition becomes disgusting. We
should learn to keep the golden mean, and
neither passionately praise nor violently de-
claim against any one.
" Ne nimis aut laudes Tydida, aut vituperes me."
For as there are no men totally free from im-
perfections, so there are few so vicious but
they have some good qualities. The same
rule should guide us in ever}7 part of our com-
merce with the world ; we should be neither
too gay nor too slovenly in our apparel, nor
too liberal nor too sparing in our expenses;
but let every thing be adapted to our circum-
stances and situation in life. " L' abondanza
delle cose, ingenera fastidio," too much even
of a good thing creates disgust; and " assez
y a, si trop n'y a," there is enough, where
there
( 149 )
there is not too much ; and " enough," we
say, " is as good as a feast."
Sponde, Noxa pr&sto est.
Become surety, and danger is near at hand,
or " be bail and pay for it." " He shall be
sore vexed that is surety for a stranger, and
he that hateth suretyship is sure." As it is
not possible, perhaps, in all cases and situa-
tions to avoid being responsible for others, it
may be right to fix some rules to guide us in
this dangerous adventure, for dangerous it
must, even under the most favourable circum-
stances, be esteemed, as by that act we engage
that the party for whom we are security shall
be frugal, industrious and honest ; and if
he fails in any of those points, we subject
ourselves to pay or make good any deficien-
cies that may occur through his misfortune,
inattention or delinquency. The person there-
fore, for whom we purpose being bound, (a
strong term,) should be one of tried fidelity,
whom we have long known, and in whose wel-
fare, either as being a near relation or an inti-
L 3 mate
( 150 ;
mate friend, we feel ourselves strongly inte-
rested ; to this should also be added, that the
sum for which we become surety, be not so
large that the loss of it would materially injure
ourselves or family : " we should so light
another's candle as not to extinguish our
own." " Ni fiez, ni porfies, ni apuestes, ni
prestes, y viviras entre las gentes," that is,
neither be surety, nor contend, nor lay wagers,
nor lend, and you will be esteemed in the
world. Most men are aware of the danger of
being security, but they have not sufficient
confidence to withstand solicitation, they yield
therefore often against their better judgment.
This silly bashfulness, an error most incident
to ingenuous young men, should be strenu-
ously resisted. He who has not learnt to
deny, is only half educated ; he should be put
under guardians as one not yet of age, and
unfit to manage his own concerns. In all
cases, where the business is of magnitude, we
should require time before we comply ; and if
after due consideration, we find that our com-
pliance might involve us in difficulties, we
should take care not to suffer our determina-
tion
tion to be shaken by any further solicitation ;
we may then say with the poet,
" Tis better, Sir, I should you now displease,
Than by complying, risque my future ease."
Duabus sedcre Sellis.
" Avoir le cul entre deux selles," " between
two stools we ofttimes come to the ground."
Irresolute persons who adopt neither side of a
proposition, or who are desirous of being well
with both parties in any contest, as they oblige
neither are generally despised by both. Ci-
cero fell a sacrifice to such indecisive conduct.
Solon established a law, inflicting a severe
punishment on persons refusing to take a part
in public commotions : by such secession the
country was deprived of the advice and assist-
ance of the very persons by whose prudence
much of the mischief attending: °n civil dis-
^j
sensions might be prevented ; or if they could
not entirely appease the tumult by joining
with the party favouring the good of their
country, they would contribute to their suc-
cess.
L 4 Nescts
quid serus Vesper vehat.
You know not what the evening may
produce, or how the present appearances may
be changed : no business shoulc^ be depend-
ed on during its progress, we must wait for
its completion before we give our opinion
of it ; for, " la fin couronne Toeuvre," " it is
the end that crowns the whole." Though
the morning be fair, the evening may be
dark and cloudy; though the business began
with favourable auspices and seemed to pro-
mise a happy conclusion, it may still fail ; or
though the early part of our lives be prosper-
ous, the end may be most disastrous and un-
happy. " La vita il fine, e '1 di loda sera,"
the end commends the life, the evening the
day : " do not halloo, therefore," we say,
" until you are out of the wood ;" that is, un-
til you have completely escaped the danger.
" Prosperity doth bewitch men, seeming clear;
But seas laugh, and shew white when rocks are near."
Simla ,
( 153 )
Simla, Simla est, etiamsl aurea gestet Insignia.
An ape is an ape, though dressed in the
most splended apparel, or
" An ape is an ape, a varlet's a varlet,
Though they be clad in silk or scarlet."
This may be applied to persons who, born
and educated among the common people, on
being advanced by fortune, affect the manners
of gentlemen, but imitate them so wretchedly,
as easily to shew the baseness of the state
from which they have been raised. " One
would think that nature's journeymen had
made them, they imitate humanity so abomi-
nably." " Asperius nihil est, humili cum
surgit in altum," which may be best rendered
by our English adage, " Set a beggar on
horseback, and he will ride to the devil." "Tu
fai come la simia, die piu va in alto, pin
mostra il cula," that is, " an ape, the higher
he climbs, the more he shews his tail."
" Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se
queda," although the monkey clothes her-
self in silk, she is still a monkey.
Ira
( 154 )
Ira omnium tardissime scnescit.
Anger becomes old, that is, yields, or gives
way slowly. When the mind is inflamed to
rage, the impression is long in wearing out.
" Cui placet, obliviscitur ; cui dolet, meminit ;"
acts of kindness are soon forgotten, hut the
memory of an offence remains. " Favours
are written on glass, injuries on stone."
" Segnius homines bonaquam mala sentiunt,"
affronts affect us more keenlv, make a strong.
*> ' O
er impression on us, than kindness ; and u Bo-
cado comido, no gana amigo," the morsel that
is eaten, gains no friends. There are some
men of such irritable dispositions, that the
slightest opposition will excite this turbulent
passion, and it not unfrequently happens that
in their rage, they say, or do, what will not
be forgotten, or cannot easily be remedied.
Anger has therefore been not improperly
called " a short madness," " Ira brevis furor,"
or, " una collera subitanea, e una pazzia
passegera," men under the influence of an-
ger being as intractable as those who are
insane ; " Sa3va animi tempestas," a cruel
tempest
( 155 )
tempest of the mind, making the eyes dart
fire, the teeth gnash, and the tongue to falter.
How necessary therefore to check it in its
commencement, and hefore it rises to that
ungovernahle height.
" give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, ay in my heart of hearts."
Pythagoras advises to efface the print of
the caldron in the ashes, after it has
boiled ; intimating that we should not persist
in our anger, but after the first ebullition,
endeavour to restrain and subdue it. Plato
being about to punish a servant who had
offended him, raised his hand for the purpose
but checking himself, and yet keeping his
hand lifted up, as if in the act of striking,
a friend who was present asked what he was
going to do, " I am about," says he, " to
chastise an angry man." In all contentions
or disputes, when we find we are becoming
warm, it would be wise to retire, or give up
the contest.
" When two discourse, if the one's anger rise,
Then he who lets the contest fall, is wise."
In
In Vino Veritas.
" La verclad esta en el vino," and «' Dans
le vin on dit la ve"riteV' Wine opens the heart
and makes us speak the truth. " Vin dentro,
senno fuora," that is, " When wine is in, wit
is out." " II vino non ha temone," " wine
hath no helm or rudder." " El vino no trae
bragas, ni de paiio, ni de lino," " wine wears
no breeches, neither woollen, nor linen." Men
intoxicated with wine, are easily led to betray
their most secret thoughts. " Quod in corde
sobrii, id in lingua ebrii," " what we think
when sober, when drunk we blab." " As fire
discovers the properties of gold, so wine lays
open the hearts of men ;" and certainly in a
state of ebriety, we have so little command
over ourselves, that there are few things, even
those regarding our personal safety, which a
crafty man might not extract from us.
Though drinking to excess, is in general
improper, and we can hardly conceive a more
despicable character than an habitual sot,
yet occasional intemperance in this way may
be excused. " Nonnunquam," Seneca says,
" usque
*' usque ad ebrietatem veniendum, non ut
mergat nos, sed ut deprimat curas," some-
times we may extend our draught even to
intoxication, not that the wine may drown us,
but that it may drown our cares. It was for
that purpose we are to suppose that Cato had
such frequent recourse to the bottle.
" Narratur et prisci Catonis,
Saspe mero caluisse virtus."
Sylvius, an eminent French physician,
thought that taking wine to intoxication
once in a month, might be useful in strength-
ening the/ligestive power of the stomach; and
the late Dr. Cadogan, who lived to a great
age, is said to have approved, and to have
followed this regimen.
" Qu'il faut a chaque niois,
Du rnoins s'enyvre une fois."
We should get drunk, at the least, once in a
month. This is an old French proverb, fa-
thered, I know not on what authority, upon
Hippocrates. But as some men are quarrel-
some when intoxicated, it is right, to remind
them, " That he that kills a. man when he is
drunk, must be hanged for it when he is
sober."
sober." " He that drinks all night, and is
hanged betimes in the morning, will sleep the
soundlier all the next day," is one of our
jocular proverbs ; as is, " The man was hang-
ed, who left his drink behind him ;" though
this is said to have been done by a thief, on
hearing that he was pursued. He was taken,
we are to suppose, and hanged. Of such stuff,
are some of our old proverbs made. " Drunk-
en folks seldom take harm," is as true perhaps
as " Naught, though often in danger, is sel-
dom hurt." Neither of them will bear a very
exact scrutiny. Not alien to the purport of
this adage are the following lines,
" Dives eram dudum, fecerunt me tria nudum,
Alea, Vina, Venus, per quse sum factus egenus."
I was rich and prosperous, but gaming,
wine, and women have reduced me to misery,
Either of them singly, if followed up, would
be sufficient to produce that effect.
Bos in Lingua.
He has an ox on his tongue. The Athenians
had a piece of money stamped with the figure
of
of an ox, whence any one who was bribed to
be silent, was said to have an ox on his
tongue. The adage was also applied generally
to persons who, restrained by fear, or from
motives of prudence, avoided giving their
opinion on any subject. It is said to have
taken its rise from the following circumstance.
Demosthenes having received a present from
the Milesians, who wished to obtain some
favour from his countrymen, which they were
apprehensive he would oppose, appeared in
the court, with his throat muffled, pretending
that he had so violent a cold, as to be inca-
pable of speaking ; but one of the members of
the court, suspecting the trick, observed to
his brethren, that " Demosthenes had an ox
on his tongue," intimating that it was not a
cold, but a bribe that prevented him from
speaking. The people of /Egina had a piece
of money stamped with the figure of a snail,
with this motto, " Virtutem et sapientiam,
vincunt testudines," that is, money is more
powerful than valour or wisdom*
Currus
( 160 )
Cur r us Bovem trahlt.
" Placing the cart," we say, " before the
horse," literally, The car draws the oxen.
This may be applied to any thing that is con-
ducted preposterously ; to children affecting
to instruct their parents, pupils their masters;
also to persons beginning a business before
they have well considered it, or spending a
fortune before it is come into their possession,
which is, " Eating the calf in the cow's belly.'*
It happens when a waggon going down a
steep hill drags the cattle, instead of being
drawn by them, which gave rise to the adage.
Pennas incidere alicui.
To clip any one's wings, to check him in
his career, " To take him a peg lower," ne-
cessary sometimes to be done to persons who
are too obtrusive and forward ; who assume a
state, and consequence, that does not belong
to them, or who thrust themselves into busi-
ness in which they have no concern.
Omnia
Omnia idem Pulvis.
\Ve are all made of the same materials,
"ejusdem farinas," of the same dust, and in
the grave there is no mark by which we may
distinguish the dust of the king from that of
the clown. As the philosophers rarely sought
after, and therefore seldom acquired wealth,
they were frequent in admonishing the great
men of the world of this truth, " that death
levels all distinctions," and that " Pobreza no
es vileza," poverty is no disgrace.
I dreamt, that buried in my native clay,
Close by a common beggar's side I lay :
And as so mean a neighbour shock'd my pride,
Thus like a corpse of consequence I cried —
" Scoundrel, begone! and henceforth touch me not;
" More manners learn, and at a distance rot."
" How ! scoundrel!" in a haughtier tone cried he ;
" Proud lump of dirt, I scorn thy words and thee ;
" Here all are equal — now my case is thine,
" That is thy rotting place, and this is mine."
The phrase, " He is of the same kidney,
stamp, or mould," is never used by us but to
designate a worthless character.
M Anulus
( 162 )
Anulus aureus in Naribus Suls.
It is putting a ring of gold into a swine's
snout, or " casting pearls before swine," may be
said to any one talking learnedly before persons
who are illiterate, or giving rich and gaudy
clothes to one who is old and decrepid ;
which, instead of adorning, would only serve
-to make him ridiculous. " As a jewel of gold
in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman without
discretion."
In eburna Vagina, plumbeus Gladius.
This is putting a leaden sword into an ivory
scabbard, was the observation of Diogenes the
cynic, on hearing very foul language come
from the mouth of an elegant young man.
Matching, and bringing together things en-
tirely dissimilar, as Hercules and an ape, the
one excelling in strength and courage, the
other only noticed for his foolish gestures,
and mischievous tricks, renders the parties
subject to the censure implied in this, and the
preceding adages.
( 163 )
Artem quavis alit Terra.
The arts are of every country, or every
country is willing to encourage them. Men
of knowledge, particularly in any of the arts
that administer to the necessities, or con-
venience of mankind, find themselves at home
in every country. The poet Simonicles, seeing
all the passengers in a vessel in which he was
sailing, and which was in danger of sinking,
collecting their valuables, said, " Omnia mea
mecum porto," I carry all my valuables about
me, let me but escape drowning, and I have
nothing to fear. " Quien tiene arte, va por
toda parte," he who has learned any art, may
live in any place, every country being ready
to entertain such inmates. " El villano en su
tierra, y el hidalgo donde quiera," the clown
in his own country, the gentleman where he
pleases; his education qualifying him to live
in any country.
A teneris Unguiculis, Ab Incunabulis, Cum
Lacte Nut rids.
It was his disposition from earliest infancy,
M 2 he
( 164 )
he shewed it when in his cradle, he sucked it
in with his mother's milk. There appears to
be a character in some individuals, implanted
by nature itself, which neither precept nor ex-
ample can alter. Persons related to each other
by the nearest ties of consanguinity ; nursed
and educated under the same auspices ; en-
joying the same advantages, stimulated to
action by the same difficulties, have been,
found as dissimilar, as if their characters had
been formed in climates and regions, and
under circumstances the most remote. He
who will reason on the above motto, will find
ample subject of discussion in the brothers
Titus and Domitian, Julian and Gallus.
Omnes attrahens ut magnes Lapis.
Drawing every thing to it, like the load-
stone. Persons of mild and placid disposi-
tions, conciliate the most rugged and harsh
tempers, as the magnet attracts iron.
" Ita facillime
Sine invidia laudem invenias, et amicos pares."
By
( 165 )
By such dispositions men easily acquire a
good name without envy, and procure to
themselves friends.
Magis magni Clerici non sunt magis sapicntes.
The greatest clerks, or scholars, are not the
•wisest men ; that is, they have not the greatest
share of that wisdom which is necessary for
conducting their worldly concerns. To excel
in any art, it is necessary tlfat our attention
be applied to it, if not exclusively, at the
least that it occupy a larger share of it than
any other subject. The man who engages in
the pursuit of literature, will find he has little
time to bestow on any other object ; the
acquisition of money will be with him a sub-
ordinate concern ; he has been taught in the
course of his studies, to consider it as of little
value, and by no means to be put in com-
petition with what he has chosen; no wonder
therefore that he is no favourite of fortune,
to whom he never paid his court, or that,
others, whom he considers, and the world
M 3 agrees
agrees in placing beneath him, receive a larger
portion of her goods, than fall to his lot. Of
what use, Tasso's father asked him, after
chiding him for neglecting the study of the
law, which he had recommended, of what use
is this philosophy, with which you are so en-
amoured ? " It has enabled me, sir," Tasso
replied, " to bear the harshness of your re-
proof;" and Aristotle, being asked the same
question, said, " to do willingly, and from a
conviction of its propriety, what others do on
compulsion."
In tuo Regno es.
You are on your own ground, surrounded
by your friends, or you would not have dared
to have insulted me, or in your own house
where it is not civil to contradict you. " Chien
sur son fumier est hardi," every dog is brave
on his own dunghill. " Chacun est roi en
^a maison," every man is king in his own
house, and " under my cloak," the Spaniards
say, "a fig for the king;" or, which is also
one of their sayings, " Tan se«or es cada uno
en
( 167 )
en su casa, como el rey de sus alcavalas,'
every man is as much master in his houseA as
the king is of his taxes.
Fontes ipsi sit hint.
Even the fountains complain of being thirs*'
ty. The proverb may be applied to persons
who greedily hunt after the goods of fortune,
though they abound in them, or who require
of their friends articles \vhich they might take
from their own stores. Cicero applied it in
this way to his brother, who had asked him
for verses, which he was himself much more
capable of making. Juvenal says, if Cicero,
who was as contemptible as a poet, as he was
great as a pleader, had made verses instead of
orations, he might have preserved his head.
The following is given as a specimen of his
poetry.
" O fortunatam natam, me consule, Romam,"
which is thus rendered by Dry den,
" Fortune fortuneri the failing state of Rome,
While I thy consul sole, consoled thy doom;"
>i 4 for
( 16*8 )
for which he might have been whipped at
school, but would have been in no danger of
losing his head.
Lumen Soli mutuum das.
Affecting to explain things that are of
themselves abundantly clear and intelligible,
or to instruct persons in matters in which they
are well informed, is like holding a light to the
sun — " Holding," Shakespeare says, "thy far-
thing candle to the sun."
In Sylvam Lignaferre.
" Porter de Teau a la mer," carrying wood
to the forest, coals to Newcastle, or water to
the ocean. Adding to the stores of those who
already abound, or aiding those who have no
need of assistance, and neglecting persons who
are in real want, subjects any one to the cen-
sure implied in this adage.
Vdocem
( 169 )
Velocem tardus assequitur.
" The race is not to the swift, nor the battle
to the strong." Ingenuity and perseverance
will often prevail over strength and swiftness,
as the slow tortoise won the race against the
swift hare. The adage may be used whenever
we find persons of weak intellects, or of no
great strength, or agility, advancing them-
selves above others who are far superior to
them in those qualities.
Nosce Tempus.
" Cada cosa en su tiempo, y nabos en Ad-
viento," every thing in its season, and turnips
in Advent. Choose the proper season. "Make
hay while the sun shines." A maxim of great
importance in life. A thing proper in itself,
if unseasonably done, may be mischievous.
The golden ball is held out to every man once
in his life, if not then laid hold of, it may
never again be offered. "Accasca in un punto,
quel che non accasca in cento anni," that may
happen in a moment, which may not again
occur in an hundred years, therefore " keep
your
( 170 )
your hook always baited," that is, be always
prepared, for as Shakespeare has well noted,
" There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life,
Is bound in shallows, and in miseries."
The ancients pictured Time with wings on his
feet, and standing on a wheel ; with a lock of
hair on his forehead, but bald behind ; inti-
mating, that time was perpetually moving, and
once suffered to pass by, it could not be re-
called. Hence we are admonished, " to take
Time by the forelock. "
" elapsum semel,-
Non ipse possit Jupiter reprehendere."
For, if suffered to escape, not Jupiter himself
can reclaim him.
Olet Lucernam.
" It smells of the lamp." The ancients used
lamps when they studied by night, therefore
any discourse or work, that was extremely
elaborated and polished, was said to smell of
the lamp, or to have had bestowed upon it the
" JLimjE labor et mora."
Noct*
( 171 )
Nocte latent Mendce.
Faults, or defects, in the complexion or form
of women, are concealed by darkness. " Ne
femina, ne tela a lume de candela," \yomen,
and linen, shew best by candle-light. Night
also throws her cloak over evil actions. Hence
the Spaniards say, " La noche es capa des
peccadores."
Mafe parta, mate dilabuntur.
" 111 gotten, ill spent. " " Lightly come,
lightly go," and " what is gotten over the
devil's back, is spent under his belly." Riches
obtained by unjust means, are frequently squan-
dered in vicious and disgraceful pursuits.
" What is well got, may meet with disaster,
But what is ill got, destroys both itself and its master."
" La farina del Diavolo, va tutta in crusca,"
the devil's meal turns all to chaff. "Vien pres-
to consummate, 1'ingiustamente acquistato,"
what is unjustly acquired, is quickly con-
sumed. Juvenal, more consonant perhaps to
common experience, says,
" De raal« quaesitis, vix gaudet tertius haeres."
The
The fortune that is acquired by fraud or rapine,
scarcely descends to the third generation.
There is something curious in pursuing thjs
simple, moral observation into real history.
Of all the companions of William the Con-
queror, who obtained the chief military digni-
ties under his jurisdiction, it is worth observ-
ing, that hardly any one had any immediate
male descendants in the third generation.
When Henry the Second ascended the throne
in 1154, only seventy years after the Con-
queror's death, there was no earl in England,
descended in the male line from one who had
been an earl under the Conqueror. The Con-
queror himself, as is well known, faad no male
issue in the third generation. Alexander and
Caesar had no descendants. Will the Emperor
of the French prove an exception to Juvenal's
observation ?
OccultcB Musices nullus Respectus.
Talents that are concealed, are of no use.
Though a man shall have cultivated his mind
with the greatest care, and shall have acquired
a large
( 173 )
a large portion of knowledge, if opportunity
be wanted of producing it to the public, he
will reap little profit from his attainments.
" Scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc, sciat alter."
There is little pleasure in knowing any subject,
unless we are satisfied that others know that
we are in possession of such knowledge. To
make learning useful, it must be communi-
cated. "Take from the philosopher," Rousseau
says, "the pleasure of being heard, and his
desire for knowledge ceases." Seneca carries
this still further. " Si cum hac exceptione
detur sapientia, ut illam inclusam teneam,
nee enunciem, rejiciam, " if wisdom were
offered to me, on this condition, that I should
not communicate it, I would not accept it.
" Quis enim virtutem ipsam amplectitur, pras-
mia si tollas ?" for who would embrace even
virtue itself, but for the attending reward ?
Lupi ilium priores viderunt.
The wolves have seen him ; or, which is
more consonant to the English adage, " He
has seen a wolf," and to the French, " II a vu
le
( 174 )
le loup," which was said of any one, who, bold
and forward with his tongue, became suddenly-
less talkative and intrusive.
" Edere non poteris vocem, lupus est tibi visus."
You are silent, I perceive, you have seen a wolf.
It was anciently believed that the wolf, by
some occult power, struck those whom it
looked on dumb, as the basilisk was said to
strike them blind. The adage, as it is now
used, is supposed to have taken its rise from
a story in Theocritus, who relates that a lover
was suddenly struck dumb, in the midst of
his courtship, by the appearance of a rival,
named Lycus, which in the Greek language is
the name of a wolf.
Una Hirundo non efficit Ver.
" Una golondrina no haze verano," and in
French, for the adage is every where known,
"Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printems,"
" One swallow does not make a summer." One
single piece of good or bad fortune should not
greatly raise or depress us, what folloM^s may
be of a different complexion. From a single
act of liberality, or the contrary, we should
not,
( 175 )
not, generally, form our opinion of the dis-
position of a man, or from a single speech, of
his learning or ability. A few warm days
occurring in the winter, brought a swallow, it
is said, from his hiding-place, which being seen
by a prodigal young man, he parted with his
cloak, but the frost returning, he soon felt the
want of his garment, and found to his cost,
that " cue swallow did not make a summer,"
which thence, it is said, became proverbial.
" Guarda el sayo," the Spaniards say, " para
Mayo," do not leave off your great coat until
May, or you will be obliged to take to it again.
In utramvis dormire Aurem.
He may sleep on either ear. His fortune
is made, he may now sleep at his ease ; or as
we say, " His name is up, he may go to bed."
" Bonne renomme'e vaut mieux que ceinture
dore'e," a good name is rather to be chosen
than riches; though the French proverb is
founded on an old law among them, prohibit-
ing any but women of good fame, from wear-
ing a golden girdle. We sleep more soundly
and
and quietly lying on one side, than on the back.
To sleep on either ear, means to enjoy undis-
turbed repose, which those only, whose minds
are free from care, may expect. But how few
can boast of this exemption ! Withers, an in-
different poet in the time of James the First,
was used to say, " Nee habeo, nee careo, nee
euro," I neither have any thing, want any
thing, nor care for any thing. But he must
soon after have changed his song, for siding
with Parliament in the troubles that arose in
the next reign, he was taken by the king's
party, and sentenced to be hanged. From
this danger he was rescued on the intercession
of Waller, who pleaded for him, it is said, "in
order that there might be one worse poet
living than himself." The Spaniards, consonant
to this proverb, say, " Cobra buena fama, y
echate a dormir," get a good name, and go to
sleep; and the French, " Qui a bruit cle se
lever matin, peut dormir jusques a diner."
Not alien, in its sense also is, "Give a dog an
ill name, and hang him^" " Famas laboranti
non facile succurritur," it is not easy to re-
cover a lost character.
A It era
( 177 )
Altera Manufert Lapidem, altera Panem
ostentat.
Holding in one hand a stone, in the other
bread, from the custom of enticing dogs, whom
we mean to beat, by holding out to them a
piece of bread ; or a horse, when we want to
harness him, by shewing him corn. The an-
cients, by this apothegm, typified persons of
deceitful and treacherous dispositions,
" Tel par devant fait bon visage,
Qui derriere mord et outrage,"
who speak fair, but mean foul ; whose words
are honey, but their actions gall ; who wound
while they flatter ; who gain your confidence
to betray you. " AlterA manu scabunt, altera
feriunt," who strike with one hand, while they
tickle with the other ; " who cover with their
wings, while they bite with their beaks."
Ex eodem Ore calidum etfrigidum efflare.
" Blowing hot and cold with the same
breath." This those persons are said to do,
who praise what they had before condemned,
or condemn what they had once commended,
N according
( 178 )
according as it suits their purpose. The
adage is founded on the well known apologue
of a Satyr, who received a poor man, nearly
frozen to death, into his hut. Observing the
man to blow or breathe into his hands, the
Satyr asked him, for what purpose he did
that ? " To warm them," the poor man said.
Seeing him afterwards blow into a bason of
pottage he had given him, he asked him,
"And for what purpose do you blow into your
pottage?" and the man telling him that it was
" To cool it," the Satyr turned him out of
doors, declaring he would have no commu-
nication with one, who could blow hot and
cold with the same breath.
Unico Digitulo scalpit Caput.
Scratching the head with a single finger,
which it seems was done by the fops in Greece
and Rome, that they might not discompose
the economy of their hair. The phrase was
therefore applied to men of nice and effeminate
manners, and implied that they paid more
attention to their dress than to the acquire-
ment
ment of more valuable endowments. This
pro verb, which originated among the Grecians,
as did indeed nearly the whole of the collec-
tion made by Erasmus, could only be used by
the Romans after they had conquered that
country, and had begun to adopt their man-
ners, in which they became such proficients,
as in time to outstrip their teachers in volup-
tuousness and vice, as far as they had before
excelled them in magnanimity and courage.
Lentiscum mandere.
Chewing mastic. The juice, or gum of the
mastic tree, was early used as a dentrifice,
being found to make the teeth white, and to
strengthen and preserve the gums. Tooth-
picks were also made of the wood, which those
who were more than ordinarily attentive to
their mouths, used frequently to chew, which
subjected them to the censure implied in this
and in the preceding adage, of being too nice
and delicate in their persons. Those who
could not get mastic toothpicks, made use
x 2 ef
( 180 )
of quills, as appears from the following by
Martial.
" Lentiscum melius, sed si tibi frondea cuspis
Defuerit, denies penna levare potest."
CCECUS Cceco Dux.
The blind leading the blind. Men incapable
of managing their own affairs, pretending to
conduct those of others, or young men ad-
vising with others equally inexperienced as
themselves, instead of following the counsel
of their elders, are like blind men trusting to
the guidance of the blind. "But if the blind
lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."
" Rehoboam lost his kingdom," Lord Verulam
observes, " not from refusing counsel, but
from taking counsel from young and incon-
siderate men. Young men," he goes on to
say, " in the conduct of affairs, embrace more
than they can hold, stir more than they can
quiet; fly to the end, without considering the
means. They use extreme remedies at first,'
and, which doubleth all errors, they will not
acknowledge
acknowledge or retract them ; like an un-
steady horse, that will neither stop nor turn."
Sine Cortice nature.
To swim without bladders, cork, or any of
the aids usually given to learners. The pro-
verb may be applied to persons who have
made such progress in the knowledge of any
art, that they are no longer in want of masters.
"Sitnul ac duraverit Eetas
Membra animumque tuum, nabis sine cortice,"
when time shall have strengthened your body,
and the powers of your mind, you may swim
without corks, that is, you will no longer stand
in need of a monitor to advise and instruct you.
Ut possumus, quando ut volumus non licet, or
" Non uti libet, sed uti licet, sic vivimus"
We should learn to live as we can, since we
cannot live as we would. " We should make a
virtue of necessity," and be contented though
we should not be able to attain what our am-
bition or cupidity grasps at. So unbounded are
the desires of men, that even those who have
N 3 abundance,
abundance, rarely or never think they have
enough. Happiness does not consist so much
in the largeness of our possessions, as in our
moderating our desires, and using properly
what we have.
" Haec perinde sunt, ut illius animus, qui ea possidet,
Qui uti scit, ei bona, illi qui non utitur recte, mala."
The real wants of nature are few, and ordina-
rily attainable by such a portion of industry,
as we are most, if not all of us, capable of
exerting, provided we are careful to dispense
frugally what we get by our industry or in*
genuity.
" Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long."
u De hambre," the Spaniards say, "a nadie vi
morir, de mucho comer a cien mil," I never
saw a man die of hunger, but thousands die of
over feeding. The follo\ving from St. Austin's
Confessions, as rendered by Burton, is so much
to the purpose of the present argument, that
I am induced to insert it.
"Passing by a village in the territory of
Milan," the writer says, " I saw a poor beggar
that had got, belike, his belly full of meat,
jesting
( 183 )
jesting and merry. I sighed, and said to some
of my friends that were then with me, what a
deal of trouble, madness, pain, and grief, do we
sustain, and exaggerate unto ourselves, to get
that secure happiness, which this poor beggar
hath prevented us. of, and which we perad ven-
ture shall never have ! for that which he hath
now attained with the begging of some small
pieces of silver, a temporal happiness, and pre-
sent heart's ease, I cannot compass with all
my careful windings, and running in and out.
And surely the beggar was very merry, but I
was heavy : he was secure, but I timorous.
And if any man should ask me now, whether
V
I had rather be merry, or still so solicitous and
sad, I should say, merry. If he should ask
me again, whether I had rather be as I am, or
as this beggar was, I should sure choose to be
as 1 am, tortured still with cares and fears, but
out of peevishness, and not out of truth." As
St. Austin was a bishop, wealthy and in great
authority, we learn from this simple story, of
how little avail wealth and power are in pro-
curing to us happiness. The proverb may be
used by any one not meeting with the success
N 4 he
( 184 )
he expected from his exertions, signifying
that he should still receive gratefully and con-
tentedly what had fallen to his lot.
Ut Sementem feceris, it a et metis.
As you have sown so you must expect to
reap. " Quien mala cama haze, en ella se
yaze," " Comme on fait son lit, on se couche,"
" as you have made your bed, so you must
lie:" you must not expect corn from thistles,
or health and prosperity from intemperance
and prodigality. " No hay dulzura sin sudor,"
" there is no sweet without sweat," and " No
hay ganancia, sin fatiga," " no gains without
pains ;" " he that will not work, must not ex-
pect to eat ; " qui est oisif en sa jeunesse,
travaillera en sa vieillesse," it is only from
being industrious and frugal when young, that
we may hope for comfort and plenty in our
old age.
" Quin ubi qua? non decent,
Haud veritus es patrare, fer quae non libeat."
As you were not afraid to do what was un-
fitting, bear now what is unplcasing as the
consequence
( 185 )
consequence of your misdoing. Zeno having
detected his servant in thieving, ordered him
to be whipped ; the servant, in excuse for
what he had done, said it was decreed by the
fates that he should be a thief, alluding to the
doctrine which he had heard his master main-
taining ; and so it was, said Zeno, that you
should be whipped. That our actions are in
some degree governed by fate is a very early
dogma, and is not entirely abandoned,
" And when weak women go astray,
Their stars are more in fault than they."
The Duke de Rochefoucault seems to have
acknowledged the principle : " II semble que
nos actions aient des e"toiles heureuses on mal-
heureuses, a qui elles doivent une grande par-
tie de la louange et du blame qu'on leur
donne :" our actions seem often to be under
the influence of good or bad stars, to which
rather than to our prudence or misconduct,
the principal part of the praise or blame they
may merit, should be attributed.
" Committunt multi eadem diverse crimina fato,
Ille crucem sceleris pretium tulerit, hie diadema."
How different the fates or fortunes of men!
the
( 186 )
the same act of villany that brings one man
to the gallows, raises another to a throne.
This is consonant also to an old English pro-
verb, " one man may steal a horse, more safely
than another may look at him over a hedge ;"
also, "one man's meat is another man's poison."
Deorum Cibus est,
Meat fit for the Gods, who, according to
Homer, feasted only on nectar and ambrosia,
which were supposed to be of such tenuity as
to pass off by transpiration, diffusing around
them rich perfumes : as digestion was per-
formed without labour to the stomach, the
bodies of the gods were supposed never to be-
come old or to be subjected to decay. The
phrase is applied hyperbolically, to any very
rich and superb entertainment ; it is a feast
fit for the gods.
Multis Ictibus dejlcitur Quercus.
There is nothing so difficult, but it may be
effected by perseverance; even the massive and
sturdy
( 187 )
sturdy oak by repeated strokes of the axe is at
length thrown down. " Gutta cavat lapi-
dem," and the constant dripping of water
wears and hollows the solid stone : " el que
trabaja, y madra, hila ora," he that labours
and perseveres, spins gold : " le labeur sur-
monte tout," by labour and perseverance, all
difficulties are surmounted.
Tertius Cato.
He is a third, or another Cato, was Said
ironically of persons affecting a more than or-
dinary degree of gravity, and sanctity of man-
ners. The two Catos, who were in their time
models of wisdom, virtue and patriotism, were
in such high esteem among the Romans, that
they even believed that they had been sent
into the world by the gods, for the purpose of
suppressing vice and banishing it from the
earth. To compare any one therefore to
them, or to call him a third Cato, would have
been the highest compliment that could have
been paid to any human being, but as they
despaired
( 188 )
despaired of seeing ag^n such a character,
the phrase was never used but to ridicule such
persons as endeavoured to assume the appear-
ance without any just pretensions to the ac-
complishments of those great men. Of such
persons, we usually say, " he is a second
Solomon ;" and the jew in the Merchant of
Venice, " he is a second Daniel."
Sapientum octavus.
An eighth wise man. This was applied iro-
nically to persons who were severe censors of
the morals of others, but not very attentive to
propriety in their own conduct. The ancients
seem to have selected seven of the philoso-
phers, who were believed to excel the rest in
wisdom and virtue, and called them the
" seven wise men," and were as little disposed
to add to the number, as to admit there could
be a third Cato. It is not with certainty
agreed by any of the writers whose works
have come down to us, who the seven wise
men were.
Fel
( 189 )
Vtl C&co appareat.
Even a blind man might perceive it, may
be said metaphorically, of a proposition so
clear and perspicuous, that it might be com-
prehended by the weakest intellects. Even a
child may understand it.
Ex Quercubus ac Saxis nati.
This was used figuratively to designate per-
sons of harsh and cruel dispositions, who
could by no intreaties be moved to compas-
sion ; they could not be the progeny of men,
but must have been produced by trees or
rocks, or some such unfeeling bodies. Pope
makes one of his shepherds say,
" I know thee, Love, on foreign mountains bred,
Wolves gave thee suck, and savage tigers fed ;
Thou wert from ^Etna's burning entrails torn,
Got by fierce whirlwinds, and in thunder born."
Virum improbum vel Mm mordeat.
Even a mouse may strike terror into the
mind of a man who has been guilty of any
great
great crime; conscious of his iniquity, he
hears a pursuer in every the lightest noise, for,
*' a guilty conscience needs no accuser ;" this,
at the least, is the case with persons only com-
mencing their career of sin, for veterans in
iniquity are not, perhaps, so easily affrighted.
" Pavore carent qui nihil commiserunt ; at poenam
Semper ob oculos versari putant qui peccarunt."
The innocent are free from fear ; but the
guilty live under the perpetual apprehension
that their crimes will be discovered, and that
the punishment they have merited will over-
take them. " Vivir bien destierra miedo,"
to live well banishes fear.
Bis dat qui cito dat.
" Quien da presto, da dos veces," " he
gives twice who gives in a trice;" and " dono
molto aspettato, e venduto non donato," a
gift long expected or waited for, is not given
but sold : benefits are not so much esteemed
for their value, as for the readiness with which
they are bestowed. " Say not to your neigh-
bour, go and come again, and to-morrow I will
give,
give, when tbou hast it by thee :" the assist-
ance which is not given early is frequently
unavailable : I thank you, what you now
offer might have been useful ; but the time is
past, the mischief your present might have
prevented, is fallen upon me. <l Ingratum
est beneficium quod diu inter manus dan-
tis haesit," the kindness that is long delay-
ed loses its value; " at bis gratum est, quod
ultro offertur," but the favour which comes
unsolicited, is doubly grateful. " Hope de-
ferred niaketh the heart sick :" the petitioner
has paid by anxious expectation more than
the value of the gift ; or he has learned,
while waiting for assistance, how to bear his
trouble, and has accommodated himself to his
situation. " Quo mihi fortunas, si non con-
ceditur uti ?" Of what use is fortune,, when I
am no longer in a capacity of enjoying it ?
" Is not a patron," Dr. Johnson says to the
Earl of Chesterfield, " one who looks with un-
concern on a man struggling for life in the
water, and when he has reached the land, en-
cumbers him with help? The notice which you
have been pleased to take of my labours, had
been
( 192 )
been kind; but it has been delayed until I
am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it; till I am
solitary and cannot impart it; till I am
known and do not want it."
" How little knowest thou who hast not tried,
What hell it is, in suing long to bide,
To waste long days that may be better spent,
To pass long nights in cheerless discontent;
To speed to-day, to be put back to-morrow,
To live on hope, to die with pain and sorrow."
CaudcE Pilos equince paullatim oportet evellere.
Allow me to do that slowly and gradually,
which cannot be effected suddenly and with
violence. " Piuma a piuma se pela 1'occha,"
feather by feather the goose \vas stripped ;
" Petit a petit Toiseau fait son nid," and by
little and little the bird makes its nest.
" Si leonina pellis non satis est, vulpina addenda ;"
" The lion's skin, too short, you know,
Was lengthened by the fox's tail/'
The adage took its rise from a story told by
Plutarch of Sertorius a Roman general, who
finding his soldiers were not pleased with his
wary and cautious mode of conducting a war
in
(193 )
in which he was engaged, he ordered two of
his men, the one young, lusty and strong, the
other, old and feeble, to strip the tails of two
horses, that were brought to them, of their
hair; the young man, grasping the whole of
the tail in his hand, pulled it with all his
strength, and continued his exertions until
he had completely tired himself, without ef-
fecting the business : the old and feeble man
on the contrary, by plucking a few hairs only
at a time, very soon stripped the tail bare and
so accomplished his purpose, with but little
difficulty. Then Sertorius, addressing himself
to his soldiers said, " videtis, commilitones,
quanto plus posset ingenium quam vires,"
you see, my fellow soldiers, of how much more
value deliberation is than strength.
Sonus Dux bomim reddit Comitem.
A good general makes a good soldier, a
good master good servants, a good father
good children, a good magistrate good citi-
zens, not only because each in their station,
will take care that those under their authority
o shall
( 194 )
shall be instructed in every thing that is ne-
cessary to enable them properly to perform
their several duties, but they will themselves
be careful that they set only good examples,
which they know to be more efficacious and
more likely to induce good manners than sim-
ple instruction ; for " precepta ducunt, at ex-
empla trahunt;"
" Example draws where precept fails,
And sermons are less read than tales."
This regimen, however, will not always produce
the desired effect. For though the parent and
the master shall have diligently performed
their parts, there are too many opportunities
and too manv incentives to vice to be found
w
abroad, to hope that the pupil will entirely
escape infection. Hence it not unfrequently
happens, that the most prudent and worthy
parents have to lament the delinquency of
their children, though the greatest care had
been taken to instil and ingraft into them
when young, the principles of honour and in-
tegrity ; for " many a good cow hath a bad
ealf," and " a good Jack, does not always
make
( 195 )
make a good Jill." The sentiment therefore
contained in the following lines,
" Youth, like the softened wax, with ease will take
Those images which first impressions make ;
If those be fair, their lives will all be bright;
If foul, they '11 cloud them o'er with shades of night.''
though frequently, is not universally true.
jElius Spartianus, in the life of the Emperor
Severus, shews by many examples, that men
famed for learning, virtue, or valour, have, for
the most part, either left behind them no chil-
dren, or such as it had been more for their
honour and the interest of human affairs, that
they had died childless. To the instances
produced by this writer, Mr. Ray adds from
our own history, " that Edward the First, a
wise and valiant prince, left us Edward the
Second ; Edward the Black Prince, Richard
the Second; and Henry the Fifth, a valiant
and successful king, Henry the Sixth."
Litem parit Lis, Noxa item Noxam parit*
One dispute, or one injury produces ano-
o 2 ther.
( '96 )
ther. Where the parties are of litigious dis-
positions, and will neither of them give way,
it happens not unfrequently, that from the
most trifling causes, the most serious con-
tentions arise, terminating in a duel, or in a
suit at law, often more disastrous than a duel.
" Nescios, y porfiados, hacen ricos los lat-
rados," fools, and contentious persons, th6
Spaniards say, make the lawyers rich ; they
also say, " Mas vale mala avanencia, que
buena sentencia;" and the Italians, " Meglio
e magro accordo, che grassa sentenza," " A
lean agreement is better than a fat sentence;"
to which we have added, not less sensibly
and impressively, " Agree, for the law is
costly."
Nothing is more generally known, or more
commonly deprecated, than the misery often
occasioned by contention, and yet how very
little influence does this knowledge seem to
have on our conduct ! There are few of us
but can tell stories of families reduced to in-
digence from having too hastily engaged in a
suit at law, in defending a doubtful right to
a slip of land, or other equally insignificant
object,
( 197 )
object, claimed perhaps by some wealthy
neighbour. " Should I suffer myself to be
imposed upon ?" Better suffer a small impo-
sition, than a great injury. No one can tell
on entering into a lawsuit, how or where it
will terminate ; but of one thing we are very
certain, the expense, unless the object be very
considerable, will exceed the sum for which
we are contending, for " Law is a bottomless
pit," an insatiable gulph, and it should be our
care to keep out of its reach. The only dif-
ference made by the painter between two men,
one of whom had gained, and the other lost
his cause, was, that to the unsuccessful party
he gave a ragged coat, and a gloomy despond-
ing countenance : to him who had succeeded
he gave an equally ragged coat, but expressed
in his look a savage joy, not at the profit he
had made, for his apparel shewed the low
state of his finances, but that he had been able
to effect the ruin of his opponent. " Be not
easily provoked," Lord Burleigh admonishes
his son, " to enter into a suit at law, lest in
the end it prove no greater refuge than did
the thicket of brambles to a flock of sheep,
o 3 that,
( 198 )
that, driven from the plain by a tempest, ran
thither for shelter, and there lost their fleeces."
Parturiunt Monies, nascetur ridiculus Mus.
" The mountain laboured and brought forth
a mouse." " La montagne est accouch6e
d'une souris." This may be applied to persons
introducing a story with great pomp and
solemnity, which turns out to be trifling and
insignificant ; to vain and empty boasters,
who have neither the power, nor perhaps the
inclination to do what they are very free in
promising; or when any project, of which
great hopes were formed, proves abortive.
Thesaurus Carbones erant.
Searching for a treasure, they found only
charcoal, may be said of persons who are dis-.
appointed in their expectations, who, after
great labour and expense, find the object of
their search of little value; the end of nume-
rous expensive speculations. Charcoal being
of
of a nature to last for ages when buried under
ground, was used by the ancients to mark the
boundaries of lands. A trench being dug,
dividing the property of two individuals, it
was rilled with charcoal, and then covered
with soil, in which stakes, at regulated dis-
tances, were placed. The stakes might be
removed, but the charcoal remaining, would
for ever shew the original boundaries of the
land.
Dives aut miquus est, aut iniqui Hceres.
A rich man is either a knave or heir to a
knave. " How can you be a good man,"
Sylla was asked, " possessing such immense
wealth, though you received nothing from
your parents?" Consonant to this opinion is
the English adage, " Happy is the man whose
father went to the devil;" and
" Jt is a saying common more than civil,
The son is blest, whose sire is at the devil."
Large fortunes made in a small space of
time, are rarely found to be acquired by fair
and honourable practices ; as is expressed in
o 4 a pas-
( 200 )
a passage in one of the comedies of Menander,
" Nunquam vir aequus dives evasit cito.'r
" Seek not," Lord Verulam says, " great
riches, but such as thou mayest get justly, use
soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave con-
tentedly." Solomon advises, " to beware of
hasty gathering of riches." Riches obtained
by the ordinary means of industry, increase
slowly, and it is only by bold and hazardous
speculations, that they are made to accumu-
late rapidly. The most honourable merchants,
or those so esteemed, who acquire very large
fortunes, can hardly be said to obtain them
justly. For though they, none of them, con-
fine their traffic within their own capitals, yet
if they are successful, they receive the whole
of the profit ; but if their speculations prove
unfortunate, they involve in their fall all who
were unlucky enough to give them credit.
" The first article, that a young trader offers
for sale," our proverb says, " is his hipnesty."
Hie Funis nihil attraxlt.
This bate has taken no fish. This argument
has
( 201 )
has not prevailed, or this scheme has not an-
swered ; some other mode must be tried, which
may be more successful. " Semper tibi pen-
deat hamus," have your hook always bated ;
though you should fail again and again, con-
tinue your exertions, you will succeed at
length. " Quis enim totum diem jaculans,
non aliquando conlineat?"forwhosoevershoots
often will at length hit the mark. To the same
purport is, " Omnem movere lapidern," " leave
no stone unturned," try every expedient that
is likely to be successful.
Merx ultronea putet.
" Profferred service stinks." We are apt to
esteem of little value, what is obtained with
small labour. The proverb seems to have
taken its origin from the mistrust entertained
of any goods pressed upon us with too much
earnestness by the venders ; from that cir-
cumstance, concluding them to be damaged
or faulty.
" Laudat venales qui vult extrudere merces,"
every man praising the articles he wishes to
dispose
C
dispose of; the purchaser, on the other hand,
labours as hard to depreciate what he is about
to buy. " It is naught, it is naught, says
the buyer, but when he is gone he vaunteth."
" Chi comprar ha bisogno di cent' ochii, chi
vende n' ha assai de uno," he who buys hath
need of an hundred eyes, who sells hath
enough of one. We are all of us also solicitous
of obtaining intelligence that is attempted to
be kept secret, or which is known to a few
persons only, and listen to it with more atten-
tion than to information equally important,
but of more easy acquisition.
Fuimiis Troes, and " Aquifye Troy a."
Troy once was, that is, Troy, though now
destroyed, was once a great and powerful city.
It may be used by persons whose families, or
countries, formerly in repute, have fallen to
decay. Time was when we were of some note
or value. " Fui Caius," is the inscription that
Dr. Caius, or Keys, the founder of a college
of that name at Cambridge, ordered to be in-
scribed on his monument.
Post
( 203 )
Post Festum venisti.
" You are come a day after the fair," the
business is done, there is now no want of your
assistance, may be said to tardy and indolent
persons, who are always too late, whether en-
gaged in business or pleasure. To which how-
ever they may answer, " II vaut mieux tard
que jamais," " Better late than never," and
" Better come at the end of a feast, than at
the beginning of a fray."
Illotls Pedibus ingredi.
Entering with unwashed feet. Alluding to
the custom of washing the feet, anciently
practised by all persons, before the}^ entered
any sacred place, or sat down to their repasts.
It was used to be applied to persons talking
confidently on subjects they did not under-
stand, or irreverently on sacred subjects; or
to those who intruded themselves into busi-
ness, without having previously prepared
themselves by study and application. As the
ancients wore sandals, and no stockings, their
feet
( 204 )
feet and legs were exposed to the mud and
dirt, and required to be washed, when they
had walked any considerable distance, both
for the sake of cleanliness and refreshment.
After washing they were usually anointed with
sweet-scented oil. This custom, at first adopted
from necessity, became at length a religious
ceremony.
Palinodiam canere.
This was used to be said to persons, who
had been obliged, to use a phrase common in
this country, " to eat their words," to retract
the judgment or opinion they had given on
any person or subject ; to praise what they
had before condemned, or to censure what
they had commended. The allegorical punish-
ment of the Braggadochio, in all the old play-
writers, is to be forced to " eat their swords."
The following fable is related, as having
given origin to this adage. The poet Stesi-
chorus, having in a copy of verses severely
censured the conduct of Helena, as a punish-
ment for his offence, he was deprived of his
sight
( 205 )
sight by the gods her protectors. Under-
standing the cause of his disaster, in a sub-
sequent poem, he raised and extolled her
character, as highly as he had before censured
her. Having therefore sung his palinodia,
retracted his censure, which is implied by the
term, he was restored to his sight.
Senecta.
Living like an old eagle. Syrus meeting
Chremes early in the morning, whom he knew
to have drunk hard the night before, addressed
him with this phrase, intimating that drinking
suited him as it did an old eagle. The eagle,
Pliny says, is in the latter part of its life in-
capable of eating any solid food, the upper
mandible growing to such a length, and be-
coming so hooked, that it can only open its
mouth sufficiently to suck the blood of the
animals it takes. Old topers therefore who
usually eat but little, may be said like that
bird, if the story is correct, to live on suction.
The adage may be applied, and with more
propriety, perhaps, to persons enjoying a high
state
( 206 )
state of health, spirits, and activity to an ex-
treme old age, which the eagle, upon better
grounds, is known to do.
Matura Satio sape decipit, sera semper mala est.
Corn early sown may disappoint your ex-
pectation, but sown too late, you will certainly
lose your seed and your labour. A proper
and seasonable time is to be chosen for per-
forming all business ; if it be too precipitately
undertaken, and before you have made the
necessary preparation, it will rarely succeed ;
but if it be delayed too long, and the oppor-
tunity suffered to pass by, that can never be
.recovered, and the business will altogether
fail. The proverb probably took its rise from
the following passage in Cato's treatise De Re
Rustica : " Res rustica sic est, si unam rem sero
feceris, omnia opera sero facies," such is the
nature of husbandry that if one process be
performed too late, the whole of the business
will fail.
Ele-
( 207 )
Elephantus non capit Murem, nee Aquila
Muscas.
The elephant disdains to contend with a
mouse, neither will the eagle stoop to catch a
fly. The brave man is not easily provoked to
punish a coward, and men of enlarged and
liberal minds are above noticing the paltry
censures of trifling, and insignificant scribblers.
De Pilo pendet. De Filo pendet.
" Colgar cle un hilo," it hangs by a hair, by
a thread, as the life of a man does, who is at
sea in a violent storm ; it may be said in all
cases of great and imminent danger, also when
the result of any business depends on some
minute circumstance. The adage is said to
have taken its rise from a device of Dionysius,
tyrant of Syracuse, who ordered one of his
courtiers, who had too highly extolled the
pleasures of royalty, to be placed at a splendid
banquet, attended by numerous servants, all
ready to obey his orders, and surrounded with
.every thing that might serve to exhilarate his
spirits :
( 208 )
spirits: but over his head, suspended by a single
hair, was a massive sword, which threatened
every moment to fall upon, and kill him. The
thought of the danger in which he was placed,
took from him all relish for the dainties before
him, and made him request that he might be
allowed to descend to his former state of pri-
vacy and safety. The tyrant, by this con-
trivance, meant to shew, that if royalty has its
pleasures, it is also surrounded with dangers,
that may well be thought to balance its en-
joyments. " If thou knewest," he said, " with
what cares and anxieties this robe is stuffed,
thou wouldest not stoop to take it from the
ground." " None think the great unhappy,
but the great."
Elephantem ex Muscdfads.
Persons speaking hyperbolically, and mag-
nifying small and insignificant objects, or
treating little offences as great and serious
crimes, may be said to make elephants of flies,
" mountains of mole-hills."
In
( 209 )
In Laqueos Lupus.
The wolf is fallen into a snare, was said,
When a crafty and bad man, who had been a
plague to his neighbours, was visited by any
great misfortune, or suffered a considerable
loss, particularly if this happened when he
was contriving mischief for some other person.
" Craft," we say, " bringeth nothing home,"
that is, nothing that is permanent.
Annosa Vulpes hdud capitur Laqueo.
" Old birds are not to be caught with
chaff." An old fox is not easily taken ; or
with the French, " Un renard n'est pas pris
deux fois a un piege," he is not to be twice
taken in the same snare ; but " Enfin les re-
nards se troiivent chez le pelletier," at length
they come to the furrier, " Tutte le volpe si
trovano in pelliceria." The tricks of crafty
and bad men are not easily detected, but
though such may escape for a time, they are
usually caught at last. " Mucho sabe la zorra,
pero mas el que la toma," the fox is cunning,
but he is more cunning who takes him.
p C apt antes
( 210 )
Captantes capti sumus.
"The biter is bit." Attempting to lead
another into an error, I am fallen into one
myself, from which I am not likely easily to
escape. Assaying to mortify another, by plac-
ing him in a ridiculous light before his com-
panions, he has turned the jest upon me, and
covered me with confusion. Augustus Csesar,
seeing a young man from the country, who
in his features very much resembled his own
family, asked him, by way of scoff, whether
his mother had ever been at Rome? No, said
the youth, but my father has. Princes endea-
vouring to enlarge their dominions at the ex-
pense of their neighbours, are themselves not
unfrequently obliged to yield up a part, or
perhaps the whole of what they before pos-
sessed. "He hath graven and digged a pit,
and is fallen into it himself."
JEthiopcm ex Vultujudico.
The ^Ethiopian may be known by his coun-
tenance, being too distinctly marked to be
mistaken
( 211 )
mistaken even on the slightest view of him ;
but neither persons, nor things, are in general
to be judged of by a superficial view of them,
for, " all is not gold that glitters." Men are
not to be estimated to be friends, merely for
professing themselves to be so. " Del dicho
al hecho ay gran trecho," there is a great
difference between saying and doing, and,
" Tierra negra buen pan lleva," black earth
produces white bread ; we therefore say,
De Fructu Arborem cognosce.
A tree is known by its fruit, and the real
value of a man by his actions.
Satius e$t recurrere, quam currere mall.
It is often better to return, than to go on ;
that is, when any one finds he has taken a
wrong road, it is better to turn back than to
proceed, as the further he goes on, the further
he will be from the place he proposes visiting.
This is the plain and literal sense of the adage ;
but it is used to recommend to us to leave
any scheme or project in which we may have
P2 en*
engaged, if we find it not likely to answer the
intended purpose, and not through pride, and
an unwillingness to acknowledge we have been
in an error, to persist until we have suffered
some great inconvenience, or mischief.
In Man Aquam gutzris, or
" Insanus, medio Flumine quceris Aquam"
Do you hunt for water, though surrounded
by the ocean ; why particularise one fault in
a man, the occurrences of whose life, offer
only a continued series of vice and immorality;
or censure a single error in a work, in which
they so abound, that they are to be met with
in every page ?
Ut Canis e Nilo.
As dogs drink of the river Nile. Menwhoarfe
unsteady in business, attending to it by starts
and snatches, and then leaving it for other em-
ployments, or reading books in the same de-
sultory and careless manner, are said to take
to
( 213 )
to them, as dogs take water from the Nile,
that is, hastily, and without stopping to taste
it. This the dogs are said to do through fear
of the crocodiles, which abound in the upper
part or' that river. A person inquiring, after
the defeat of the forces of Marc Anthony at
Actium, what he had done there, was an-
swered by his friend, "Ut canis in ^Egypto,
bibit et fugit," that is, as the dogs do in
Egypt, drink and run. Marc Anthony is
said on that day only to have shewn himself,
and seeing the superiority of the forces of his
adversary, to have fled, without waiting the
result.
Fluvius cum Mari certas.
Being but a river, do you compare yourself
to the ocean ? A frog trying to extend herself
to the size of an ox, burst, we are told, and
became an object of derision to the spectators.
Men of slender fortunes, emulating the state
and splendor of the wealthy, are ruined, and
are despised even by those who encouraged
them in their expenses.
P 3 <* Qui
( 214 )
" Qui monte plus haul qu'il ne doit,
Descend plus has qu'il ne voudroit."
Those who attempt rising higher than they
ought, generally mar their fortunes, and fall
lower than they would have done, had they
been less ambitious.
Leonem ex Unguibus estimare. Ex Pede
Herculem.
Prom the size of the talons, you may esti-
mate the bulk of an animal, and from the
foot, the stature of the man to whom it be-
longed. Also, from a single stratagem, the
wit and ingenuity, and from a letter, or con-
versation, the learning, or judgment of any
one with whom we are about to be connected
may often be discovered. The rule, how-
ever, is not infallible, for bulk does not always
indicate strength or courage; neither are the
qualities of the mind ordinarily laid open at a
single interview. Hence we say, "Fronti nulla
fides," mens' characters are not always written
on their foreheads, and " No es todb oro, lo
que reluce," all is not gold that glitters ; and
" straight
" straight personages have often crooked
manners ; fair faces, foul vices ; and good
complexions, ill conditions."
It is known, Plutarch says, that the Olympic
stadium was of the length of six hundred feet,
measured by the foot of Hercules; but Pytha-
goras, finding that the stadium used in other
countries, containing the same number of feet
of men of the ordinary stature, was much
shorter, by dividing the space in which it was
deficient into six hundred parts, he determined
the exact length of the foot of Hercules, and
thence of his stature or height, which he found
to be six feet seven inches ; and Phidias the
statuary, from seeing the claw of a lion,
ascertained the size of the animal, whence the
proverbs.
Extremis Digitis attingere.
This may be said by a writer or orator, who
does not mean to enter deeply into the subject
he is discoursing of, but only to handle it
lightly, not to grasp or take hold of the ob-
ject, but to touch it with the ends of his
fingers. "Summis labiis," persons professing
p 4 with
with their lips, more than they intend, has
nearly a similar meaning ; and
Summit Naribus olfacere,
passing an opinion upon a subject from a
very slight inspection or examination of it.
" Molli brachio, et laevi brachio," are also
phrases used to intimate that a business has
been hurried over, without having the ne-
cessary attention paid to it. In handicraft
business we should say, "bestow a little more
elbow-grease upon it,"
De Fcece haurire.
To drain the cask, and drink to the bottom;
metaphorically, to be reduced to the lowest
state of misery and wretchedness.
With persevering industry. Like to school-
masters, who are obliged to repeat the same
lesson to an hundred different boys, and many
times to the same boys, that it may be re-
tained in their memories. There are few things
impossible
( 217 )
impossible to industry. Iron, by repeated
strokes of the hammer, becomes at length soft
and pliable, whence the adage.
In Quadrum re dig ere.
To make any thing perfectly square; meta-
phorically, to reduce to order. Thus the parts
of any object, or of any speech or composition,
agreeing together, they are said to quadrate ;
and the man whose conduct is consistent and
right, is said " to act upon the square." The
phrase seems to be derived from the uniform
and apposite consistency of that figure, whose
every side and angle is answered by its op-
posite.
Dimidium plus toto.
The half is oftentimes more, or better than
the whole ; that is, the half that we possess,
or that may be acquired with safety, is better
than the whole, if it cannot be obtained with-
out danger. By this enigmatical adage, in
frequent use among the ancients, is recom-
mended the " aurea mediocritas," the golden
mean :
( 218 )
mean ; or, moderation in our pursuits of riches
or of power. It is better to be contented with
a middling estate, or to cease speculating when
we have acquired a competency, than by hunt-
ing after more, to hazard what we already
possess. The dog catching at the shadow of
a piece of meat which he saw in the water, lost
that which he held in his mouth. The adage
may also be applied to persons engaged in
controversy, where neither party will give way
though a small concession on each side might
tend to their mutual profit. Erasmus applies
it to the dissensions existing between the Lu-
therans and the Romanists, which then raged
with great violence, neither party being dis-
posed to recede in their pretensions, or both of
them, perhaps, making it a point of conscience
not to yield. " Dum enim theologi quidam,
ac prsesules, nihil omnino volunt de suis dog-
matibus, ac jure concedere, veniunt in peri-
culum ne perdant et ilia, qure bono jure tene-
bant" For while the heads of the Romish
church will yield nothing to the adverse party,
there seems great reason to apprehend they
will lose much of what they would be allowed
to
( 219 )
to retain. My opinion,, he adds, is, that rather
than hazard losing the whole of the authority
they contend for, that they give up a portion
of it, it being hetter to preserve the half,
than by contending for the whole to lose all.
From this, and other passages in his works, it
seems clear that though Erasmus continued to
his death in community with the catholics, he
was much more inclined to the tenets of the
Lutherans, and so indeed the Lutherans be-
lieved, and they reproved him accordingly for
his pusillanimity, in not declaring himself more
openly. But he had not the courage, as he
frankly acknowledged, to become a martyr.
" Non omnes ad martyrium, satis habent ro-
boris ; vereor autem, ne, si quid incident tu-
multus, Petrum sim imitaturus." He was be-
sides, as he says, so averse to contention, that
he should abandon the truth itself, if it could
only be defended by tumult. " Mihi adeo
invisa est discard ia, ut veritas etiam displiceat
seditiosa. " Hesiod, to whom we owe this
adage, tells us, that having been, defrauded of
a portion of his estate by his brother, he was
thence induced to turn his mind more sedu-
lously
( 220 )
x r \
lously to the cultivation of what remained,
which soon became so productive, that he
observed, the judges, who decided the cause,
had not done him so much injury as was ap-
prehended, the half proving in the event to be
more valuable than was the whole.
" Unhappy they to whom God ha'nt revealed,
By a strong light which must their sense controul,
That half a great estate's more than the whole ;
Unhappy, from whom concealed still does lye,
Of roots and herbs, the wholesome luxury."
Ole.o tranquillior.
Attend to me, and I will cure you of your
passions, and make you more soft, supple, and
pliant than oil, "As mild as a turtle-dove."
It is known, that oil poured into water, when
in the highest state of agitation and disturb-
ance, renders it immediately smooth and placid;
hence persons of peaceable and quiet disposi-
tions were said to be, "Oleo tranquilliores," as
those of haughty, unsteady, and passionate
tempers were, " Iracundiores Adria," more
boisterous and turbulent than the Adriatic
sea,
( 221 )
sea, which had the character, though not very
justly, perhaps, of being peculiarly liable to
storms and tempests. Pope seemed to think
that his verses might have an effect on the
mind similar to that of oil on water.
" Know there are lines, which fresh and fresh applied*
Might cure the arrantst puppy of his pride."
Canis in Pr&sepi.
Like the dog in the manger, who would not
suffer the ox to eat of the hay, though he
could make no use of it himself. Those who
have large collections of valuable books, which
they are incapable of reading, and refuse to
let them be consulted by others who might
reap information from them, are guilty of this
vice, as indeed is every one, who will not im-
part, out of his abundance, to those who are
in want.
Summum Jus summa Injuria.
The extreme of justice, that is, strictly ad-
hering to the letter of the law, may prove
highly injurious. As it is impossible that laws
should
( 222 )
should be so framed as to embrace and take
in every species or degree of turpitude or
crimes ; so on the other hand, it cannot be
avoided, but that in the endeavour to restrain
or punish vice, general regulations will be
made prohibiting actions, which, under cer-
tain circumstances, may not be criminal, or
may be even necessary or unavoidable. Hence
it has been found expedient in most civilised
countries, to lodge a power in the supreme
magistrate of pardoning persons, in whose
cases some alleviating circumstances appear,
who, by rigidly adhering to the1 letter of the
law, would suffer the punishment allotted to
the act he had committed. Courts of equity are
also formed, empowered to correct errors in
the wording of deeds or instruments by which
property is transferred, when it appears that
by following the direct meaning of the words
the intention of the parties would be defeated.
By a law of the Romans, children refusing to
support their aged parents were condemned
to be thrown into prison ; " liberi parentes
alant, aut vinciantur." But should the son
be incapable of procuring sustenance for him-
self,
( 223 )
self, it would be highly injurious to condemn
him to suffer the penalty of the laws : a simi-
lar law prevailed at Athens, but was obliga-
tory only on those persons whose parents had
brought them up to some business or calling.
There are other ways in which this popular
adage may be properly applied,
" Insani sapiens nomen ferat, zequus iniqui,
Ultra quam satis est, virtutem si petat ipsam."
We should take care that even our admiration
of virtue be not carried to excess, but remem-
ber, in our censures of the conduct of others,
to make allowance for slight errors and imper-
fections, such as are incident to the nature and
state of man, which occasions that even our
best works fall very short of perfection. " The
archer who shoots beyond the mark misses it,
as well as he that falls short of it." " We may
grasp virtue," Montaigne says, " so hard, till
it becomes vicious." No men are less be-
loved than those who are too rigidly nice and
exact in marking small errors in their families,
though they censure nothing but what is, in
a degree, reprehensible. " Quien las cosas
much®
( 224 )
mucho apura, no vive vida segura," he that is
over-nice in looking into small errors, will never
live an easy and quiet life. There should
be a medium therefore in our prosecution of
virtue, as well as in every other pursuit.
Aberrare a Scopo, non attingere Scopum, extra
Scopum jaculare.
" To miss the mark," to throw beyond or
over-shoot the mark, to be out or mistaken
in our conjecture upon any subject. It is
applicable to any one who in conversation or
writing wanders from the subject proposed
for discussion, as he was said " attingere sco-
pum," " to hit the mark," who delivered what
was pertinent or proper.
Inexplebile Dolium,
A cask which cannot be filled. An appe-
tite that can never be satiated, a thirst after
riches that no acquisition of fortune can sa-
tisfy, have been aptly enough compared to a
leaky
( 225 )
leaky vessel, that can never be filled, the liquor
running out as fast as it is poured in. It
may also be applied to persons who, from in-
capacity or inattention, retain nothing that
they have learned : it is labour lost, " it is like
pouring water into a sieve," to attempt in-
structing such persons.
Aut bibat, aut abeat.
Either drink or begone, and " Odi me-
morem compotorem," I hate the man who
tells what is said at the table. It was a
custom among the ancients, and it is still fol-
lowed, at their convivial meetings, to place one
of the company at the head of the table as
president or moderator for the day, whose
orifice it was to see, among other things, that
each of the guests drank his portion of wine;
and this was one of the laws that was invaria-
bly put in force, " either drink or leave the
company," that none of them might be in a
state to take advantage of any unguarded
expression that might happn to be used.
" Quando a Roma fueres, haz como vieres,"
Q that
that is, " when we are at Rome, we should do
as they do at Rome;" and we should, at least
for the time, accommodate ourselves to the
manners of those persons with whom we asso-
ciate. Antipater of Sidon, who had possibly
been traduced by one of these unfair intru-
ders upon festivity, expresses his indignation
against the whole tribe as follows :
" Not the planet that sinking in ocean,
Foretells future storms to our tars;
Not the sea when in fearful commotion,
Its billows swell high as the stars ;
Not the thunder that rolls in October,
Is so hateful to each honest fellow,
As he who remembers when sober,
The tales that were told him when mellow."
What is told at such times has always been
considered as " said under the rose," or under
a seal of secrecy, of which the rose is an em-
blem. The Germans were used to have a rose
in painting or in sculpture on the ceilings of
the rooms in which they caroused. The rose
was the favoured flower of Venus, and was by
Cupid dedicated to Harpocrates, the God of
Silence, the votaries to his mother being parti-
cularly
( 227 )
cularly interested that their rites should be
kept secret : this property of the rose is cele-
brated in the following tetrastic : —
" Est Rosa flos Veneris ; quo dulcia furta laterent,
Harpocrati, matris dona, dicavit Amor;
Inde rosam mensis hospes suspendit amicis,
Convivze ut sub ea, dicta tacenda sciant."
" The Rose was born for beauty's queen ;
Young Love in playful hour,
From eye and ear her thefts to screen,
To Silence gave the flower.
Hence o'er the friendly board the rose
Suspended blush'd, to shew
That he who would the joy disclose,
Is mirth's and friendship's foe."
Cicero seems to extend the meaning of the
adage, to persons declaiming with too much
violence against the miseries which all men
suffer more or less in this life. Either be
contented with what you meet with here, or
leave them, and see what another world may
afford you. With more propriety it may be
applied to persons railing at the laws and
manners of their own countries; either refrain
from your censures, or go to some place where
you imagine you shall fare better.
Q 2 Frigidam
( 228 )
Frigidam Aquam eff under e.
" To throw cold water on a business," to
retard its progress by idle scruples, or by more
than necessary caution, is at least the manner
in which the phrase is used by us. As few
great actions can be achieved without some
danger, or any work of eminence performed
without hazard, to magnify these and to sup-
pose them to be inevitable, because they are
possible, is to check the progress of invention
and improvement in the world. " Chi troppo
s'assottiglia, si scavessa," who refines too much
concludes nothing, or who makes himself too
wise, becomes a fool. " He that regardeth
the wind, shall not sow; and he that looketh
at the clouds shall not reap ;" the face of the
sky not affording certain signs, indicating
that the weather will continue for a sufficient
space of time favourable to those operations :
we therefore say, " nothing venture, nothing
have:"
• " Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt."
Stultus
( 229 )
Stultus qui Pat re occiso, Liber os relinquat.
Having killed the father, you should have
destroyed the children also ; they being
spared, will at some future time revenge the
death of their parent. When the murderers in-
formed Macbeth, that they had killed Banquo,
but that Fleance his son was fled, " Then," said
the king, " you have scotched the snake, not
killed him." You should have taken care
either not to have provoked the man, or you
should have rendered him incapable of return-
ing the affront.
Oportet Testudinis Carnes aut edere aut non
edere.
Either eat the turtle, that is eat plentifully
of it, or leave it. " Do it or let it alone."
This is said to unsteady or lukewarm persons
who stand long hesitating, who will neither
take nor leave what is offered them, or who set
about a business with so ill a will, that it is
impossible it should succeed. In literature,
Q 3 such
( 230 )
such waywardness is more likely to make
men opiniative coxcombs than to improve
their understandings, as we learn from these
lines of Pope :
" A little learning is a dangerous thing,
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring;
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
But drinking largely sobers us again."
The flesh of the turtle eaten sparingly, was.
said to disagree with and disturb the stomach,
but taken plentifully, to be innocent and salu»
tary, whence the adage. This, however,
though believed by the ancients, is not very
probable ; it is more consonant to reason, that
it soon became putrid, and was therefore not
fit to be long kept.
Ab Ovo usque ad Mala.
From the eggs to the apples, from the begin-*
ning to the end ; it was said when a story or
an account of any transaction was narrated
circumstantially, from its commencement to
its termination. Alluding to the tables of the
Romans,
Romans, at which eggs were first, apples last
served.
Bonce Leges ex mails Moribus procreantur.
Good laws are the offspring of bad actions.
If men were all just and honest, there would
be no need of laws to restrain them. If there
were no diseases, there would be no need of
physicians ; if no crimes, there would be no
occasion for judges, or executioners. Solon
being asked why he had devised no punish-
ment for parricides, said, " the crime was so
horrible, he could not suppose it would ever
be committed."
Similes habent Labra Lactucas.
" Like lips, like lettuce." Thistles suit the
rough and hard lips of the ass, and coarse and
plain diet the stomach of the clown ; employ-
ments^ clothes, and entertainment should be
adapted to the persons for whom they are pro-
vided ; a dull scholar to a stupid master, and
a froward wife to a peevish and churlish hus-
Q 4 band.
( 232 )
band. "It would be a pity," we say, " that
two houses should be troubled with them."
" Tal carne, tal cultello," the knife should
suit the meat, and " Dios da el frio confonne
a la ropa," the cold is fitted to the coat. The
poor man with his thread-bare and tattered
raiment, is no more incommoded by the cold
than the rich man who is clothed with furs
and velvets. Hence we say, " God suits the
back to the burthen." Whenever we hear
that a mean, sordid, and worthless man has
committed some dirty act, we say it was of a
piece with the man, no better could be ex-
pected of him ; the action suited him as this-
tles do the mouth of an ass, and this is the
usual way of applying the proverb. To the
same purport is,
Dignum Patella Operculum.
A cover worthy such a pot. " What better
could be expected from such a stock," or, in
a favourable way, nothing less was expected
from so excellent a man ; though the adage
is more commonly used in an unfavourable
sense. We have however a phrase which seems
to
( 233 )
to militate against the sense of this proverb,
as when we say of a person performing un-
willingly a duty imposed upon him, " he looks
like an ass mumbling of thistles."
Sijuxta claudum habit es, subclaudicare disces.
If you dwell with the lame, you will learn
to limp likewise. We are all prone to imitate
those with whom we associate. Those who
educate child ren^ therefore should be careful
not to introduce among them any persons
who squint, stammer, or have any remarkable
defect in their gait, or who have any acquired
habits that are unseemly or disgusting. But
such is the capriciousness of mankind, that
in pursuit of the idol fashion, they will
not only subject themselves to inconvenience
and pain, but will maim and distort their
bodies, and fancy such perversions to be beau-
ties. For examples of this kind, we need not
recur to the ladies in China, who submit to be
rendered cripples, in order to distinguish them-
selves from the lower classes of women ; or to
the Esquimaux and other uncultivated people,
who
( 234 )
who wear fish bones stuck through their ears
and nostrils, and deem them to be ornaments,
who suffer themselves to be tattooed, or com-
mit an hundred other extravagances, to add
grace, as they suppose, and dignity to their
persons. The absurdity of these customs have
been equalled at the least by the ladies in this,
and perhaps, in every other country in Europe;
the high-heeled shoes, and the straight and
stiff stays, so long the fashion here, occasion-
ing to those who wore them as much pain,
and were as prejudicial to their health, as the
practices of the savages. But the ladies must
not be allowed to bear the whole of the ridi-
cule attached to these follies. The men may
justly put in a claim for their share. It is
known that Alexander the Great carried his
head a little over the left shoulder. This de-
fect in the prince soon became a fashion, and
then, we are told, " not a soul stirred out un-
til he had adjusted his neck-bone ; the whole
nobility addressed the prince and each other
obliquely, and all matters of importance were
concerted and carried on in the Macedonian
Court, with their polls on one side." As
Diony-
( 235 )
Dionysius was purblind, his courtiers, Plu-
tarch says, the better to conciliate his favour,
affecting to have the same deficiency, ran
against each other, when in his presence,
stumbled over stools, chairs, or whatever hap-
pened to stand in their way ; and he speaks
of another country, where the courtiers carried
their adulation so far, that many of them re-
pudiated wives whom they loved, in compli-
ment to the tyrant who had put away his wife,
with whom he was disgusted. Dr. Heberden
gives a more recent instance of a similar folly.
" When Lewis the XIV. happened to have a
fistula, the French surgeons of that time com-
plain of their being incessantly teazed by peo-
ple who pretended, whatever their complaints
were, that they proceeded from a fistula ; and
if there had been in France, he adds, a mineral
water reputed capable of giving it them, they
would perhaps have flocked thither as eagerly
as Englishmen resort to Bath, in order to get
the gout, the fashionable disease of this coun-
try."
Cor rum-
( 236 )
Corrumpunt Mores bonos Colloquia pram.
c
" Evil communication corrupts good man-
ners." If it is important to prevent children
in particular from associating with those who
have any personal defects, lest they should
adopt them, it is still more necessary to guard
them against the infection of depraved morals;
which are more readily imbibed, take deeper
root, and are with greater difficulty removed
than those affecting only the person. " Cos-
tumbre haze ley," custom has the force of a
law, and " Mudar costumbre a par de muerte,"
to change a custom is next to death. " Tell
me," we say, <{ with whom you associate, and
I will tell you what you are." " Che dorme
co cani, si leva col le pulci," those who sleep
with dogs rise up with fleas, and " La mala
compagnia, e quella che mena huomini a la
furca," it is bad company that brings men to
the gallows. "Company," Falstaff says,
" Villanous company hath undone me ;
Till 1 knew thee, Hal, I knew nothing."
On the other hand, the Spaniards say, " Ari-
mate a buenos, v seras uno dellos," associate
* V
with
( 237 )
with the good, and you will be esteemed one
e>
of them.
Conscientia mills Testes.
Conscience is as a thousand witnesses. We
therefore say, " An evil conscience needs no
accuser." " Heti quam difficile est, crimen
non prodere vultu !" how difficult it is for a
person accused of a crime to avoid betraying
his guilt by his countenance. No man who
has not been long trammelled in wickedness
can bear this test. " Oh coward conscience,
how dost thou affright me !" was the apos-
trophe of Macbeth, after having murdered
his sovereign. " Labour," Lord Bacon says,
" to keep a good conscience ; for he that is dis-
furnished thereof, hath fear for his bedfellow,
care for his companion, and the sting of guilt
for his torment." The following lines from
the Thirteenth Satire of Juvenal as translated
by Mr. Hodgson, give a terrible description
of the power of conscience, in tormenting
those, who may perhaps have escaped punish-
ment by the insulted laws of their country,
"Yet
( 238 )
" Yet can we deem those traitors free from pain,
Who the quick sense of villany retain ?
Whom secret scorpions to confession urge,
While torturing conscience shakes her bloody scourge?
To them belongs more dreadful punishment
Than laws can execute, or judge invent;
By day, by night, condemn'd to hear within,
The sleepless witness of their burning sin.
These are the souls who shrink with pale affright,
When harmless lightnings purge the sultry night;
Who faint, when hollow rumblings from afar,
Foretel the wrath of elemental war ;
Nor deern it chance, nor wind that caus'd the din,
But Jove himself in arms to punish sin."
Not alien to the sense of the proverb, though
dissimilar enough to the lines just quoted, is
the following story :
A clergyman with whom Brantome was
acquainted, preaching to a polite audience
on conjugal infidelity, said he understood
there were some among them, who were so
depraved as to wink at the infidelity of their
wives, in favour of persons from whom they
were soliciting preferment. And now, says
he, I mean to strike the most culpable, lifting
up his hand, as if about to throw something
at him, on which a majority of the married
men
( S39 )
men stooped down their heads ; waiting a small
time, until they had recovered their seats, he
added, I did suppose that some among you
might be guilty, but I did not before know
that so large a proportion of you were so.
J\Iagistratus Virum indicat.
The office shews the man. Men who have
opulence and power, being under little re-
straint, shew their natural dispositions, which
those in more confined circumstances are
obliged to check and subdue. Galba, who
had passed through all the offices of the state
\vith honour, when at length, and late in life,
he was made Emperor of Rome, being pos-
sessed of unlimited power, he became a
monster of cruelty and avarice. He was,
*' Omnium consensu, capax imperii, nisi irn-
perasset," by the consent of all he would
have been fit for the supreme command, if
he had not attained to it ; and of Caligula,
Suetonius says, "Nee servum meliorem ullum,
nee deteriorem dominum fuisse," there never
was
( 240 )
was a better servant, nor a worse master.
Vespasian, on the other hand, who in the early
part of his life, had been a voluptuary, and
shewed little attention to business, being
raised to empire, filled his post with so much
honor, as to be called the Delight of Man-
kind. "• Solus imperatorum Vespasianus mu-
tatus in melius," he was the only one of the
emperors, who became a better man by being
raised to the supreme command.
Manllana Imperia.
Any exceedingly harsh and severe sentence
or punishment, was so called from Titus Man-
lius, who ordered his own son to be first
scourged, and then beheaded, the usual pu-
nishment for disobedience of military orders,
for having, in the heat of battle, advanced
beyond his rank upon the enemy. The story
adds, that Manlius, being some time after
offered the consulship, declined accepting it,
telling the people, that as they could not bear,
his severity, for they had censured him for
his
( 241 )
his cruelty, so neither could he bear their
licentiousness.
Sylosontis Chlamys*
The garment of Syloson ; alluding to a rich
cloak whicfo Syloson gave to Darius, before he
came to the empire. The prince, pleased with
the conduct of the man in making him so
grateful a present, for the garment was exqui-
sitely beautiful, as soon as he was advanced to
the throne, gave him the sovereignty of the
island of Samos. The proverb may be applied
to any one conferring small favours on their
superiors, in the expectation of getting some-
thing of greater value. Syloson, the story
adds, exercised his authority with so much
severity, as usually happens when men of ob-
scure birth are raised to high rank and dignity,
that the people, tired with his tyranny and ra-
paciousness, quitted the country in such num-
bers, as in time to reduce it almost to a desert.
This gave birth to the following, which became
also proverbial.
( 242 )
Opera Sylosontis ampla Reglb.
Which may be rendered, By the favour of
Syloson, there is now room enough, and may
be applied on any similar occasion ; and it
seems as if the present Emperor of the French
wo'uld make room enough in all the countries
that are so unfortunate as to be visifed by him.
It may also be applied where any one has by
extravagance emptied his coffers, or unfur-
nished his house.
Dii laneos Pecks habent.
The gods have their feet shod with wool.
" God comes with leaden feet, but strikes with
iron hands.'' The ancients, by this enigmatical
proverb, intimated that the judgments of the
Deity were executed in so silent a manner,
that trie offenders did not often perceive the
approach of the punishment they were doomed
to suffer, until they felt the stroke. But,
"where vice is, vengeance follows."
" Raro antecedentera scelestura
Deseruit pede pcena claudo."
Punishment*
( 243 )
Punishment, though deferred, rarely fails ul-
timately to be inflicted on those who have'
offended.
— — ' - •-" Vengeance, though slow paced,
At length o'ertakes the guilty, and the -wrath
Of the incensed powers, will fall most sure
On wicked men, when they are most secure."
Zenone modcratior.
More temperate than Zeno; who, both by
example and precept, is said to have inculcated,
in his disciples the advantages of being plain
in their apparel, consulting only what was ne-
cessary and moderate in their diet, and in all
other sensual enjoyments. As by following this
regimen, they would have use for very little
money for their personal conveniences, they
might more readily bestow it, either for the
benefit of their country, or on necessitous
individuals.
Aurum habet Tolosanum.
He has got the gold of Tolosa. Tolosa was
a town in Gallia Narbonensis, which became a
R 2 Ro
Roman colony under Augustus Caesar. Csepio,
one of the consuls, having plundered a temple
of Minerva, their tutelar deity, became from
that time unfortunate in all his transactions;
which was considered as a judgment upon him
for his sacrilege. The same sentence continues
to be passed on persons falling to decay, after
having possessed large property, acquired by
rapine : " I thought it would not thrive with
him :" a harmless prejudice. To the same
purport is the adage " Equus Sejanus," or the
horse of Seius, which whoever possessed, came
to a miserable end. This is said to have been
the fate of four of its owners in succession.
It was therefore said indifferently of persons
who were very unfortunate, " He has the horse
of Seius, or, the gold of Tolosa."
Festina lente.
44 On slow," a frequent motto on dials, and
giving a name to a noble family in this
country ; but to be considered here, as afford-
ing an important rule for human actions.
" Tarry a little, that we may make an end the
sooner,''
( 245 )
sooner," was a favourite saying of Sir Amyas
Paulet, that is, let us consider a little before
we begin, and we shall get through the busi-
ness with less interruption. " Qui nimis pro-
pere, minus prospere,*' too much haste in the
beginning, makes an unhappy ending. " Pro-
pera propere," " make no more haste than good
speed," for "haste makes waste." " Sat cito,
si sat bene," "soon enough, if well enough."
"Presto et bene, non conviene," hastily and
well, rarely or never meet. " Pas a pas on
va bien loin," step by step we may to a great
distance go. " Chi va piano va sano, e anche
lontano," who goes slowly, goes sure, and also
far. " It is good to have a hatch before your
door," that you may be stopped a minute or
two before you get out, which may enable
you to consider, whether you have taken with
you every thing you may have occasion for
in the business you are going upon. From
these adages, and many more might be added,
all bearing on the same point, we see how
highly the precept has been esteemed in all
ages. Erasmus thought it of such general
utility, that it might not improperly be in-
u 3 scribed
( 246 )
scribed upon our public columns and build-
ings, upon the doors of our houses, and upon
our screens, or other pieces of furniture, and
to be engraved upon our rings and seals, that
it might be met by us whichever way we turned
our eyes. " Poco a poco van lexos, y cor-
riendo a mal lugar," slow and softly go far, the
Spaniards say, and haste may bring the busi-
ness to an ill conclusion.
Difficilia quce pulchra.
What is valuable is usually of difficult ac-
quisition. Things that are rare and of great
utility are not ordinarily to be obtained but
with much labour. Learning, which contri-
butes so much to distinguish those who are
possessed of it, is not to be acquired but by
long and continued study and application. It
is difficult to restrain our passions, and to ac-
quire habits of temperance and moderation,
but these when obtained are of inestimable
value. The difficulty with which arts and
sciences are learned is so great, that few
would undertake the labour of acquiring them
but
( 247 0
but for the pleasure and advantages they hold
out to those who possess them.
•• • • " Nothing endears
A good, more than the contemplation : • • '•
Of the difficulty >ve had to obtain it." . ; . ;••
" Non est e terris mollis ad:: astral via,,"
" narrow and difficult is the rway. thai 'Jeaids 'to
life, but broad and easy that w/bidr$etods- to
destruction," " Difficilius est sarciie coticor-
diam, qtiam rumpere," how easy it is to sow
dissensions and, strife among men, but how
difficult to bring them again to peace and har-
mony !
Cumini Sector.
One who would carve or split a cummin seed.
The adage was applied to persons who were
extremely cautious, in examining into the evi-
dence on which any report was founded, be-
fore they admitted it as deserving credit. Of
such a character was the Emperor Antoninus
Pius, to whom the proverb was applied, for his
patience and diligence in examining into the
merits of the causes that came before him;
R 4 and
and if all persons were of the same disposi-
tion, it would put a stop to more than half
the broils, dissensions, and disputes which add
so largely to the catalogue of evils* afflicting
us ; but " oiii dire va par ville," idle reports
that have no foundation, are quickly circu-
lated and easily believed. The adage is, how-
ever, more commonly applied to persons of
mean and sordid dispositions, and has the
same sense as,
Ficos dividers,
Persons who would cut a fig into parts, or
as we say, " who would flay a flint." " He will
tlress an egg and give the broth to the poor."
Though the fruit is not a native of this coun-
try) yet when we mean to .speak contemptu-
ously of any one, we say, " a fig for him," and
" under my cloak," the Spaniards say, " a fig
for the king. "
Neminijidas, nisi cum quo prius Modium
Salis absumpseris.
Or as the French say, " pour bieu connoitre
( 249 )
iin homme, il faut avoir mange un muid de
sel avec lui." As a friend is " alter ipse," ano-
ther self, to whom the most secret transactions
of your life may be communicated, it is neces-
sary you should be well acquainted with him,
before he be admitted to this intimate fami-
liarity, or that you should have known- him,
as the adage expresses it, so long that you
might have eaten a peck of salt with him.
Salt among the eastern nations was the type
of hospitality, and for its many useful quali-
ties, particularly for its power of preserving
bodies from putrefaction, it seems to have
been every where had in high estimation ;
which is the reason, probably, M'hy it is named
here in preference to bread, or other articles
also in daily use at our tables.
Multas Amicitias Silentium diremit.
Silence or neglect destroys friendship. " Non
sunt amici qui degunt procul," they will
not ordinarily long continue to be friends,
who live at a great distance from each other.
As
As we should not be 'hasty in forming
nections, so having -formed tliem, we should
cultivate them with care, and strengthen the
intimacy by frequent conversation and cor-
respondence. " Lontano dag'li occhi lontano
del cuore." " Loin des yeux, lorn du coeur,"
" out of sight, out of mind." :
Pulchrl dixti. Bd& narras.
You have made out a pretty story, was
used to be said, ironically, to any one who had
failed egregiously in delivering £ message or
telling a story ; and similar forms of speech
are not uncommon among ourselves.
Rara Avis.
He is a rare bird indeed, was used to be said
of any one doing an act of unusual generosity
or goodness; or of a man of such strict mo-
rality, that he would not do a mean or unjust
action though he might without fear or de-
tection obtain a fortune by it. A'character
which, though very unco'mntoh in the later
ages
( 251 )
ages of the Roman empire, is, I trust and be-
liev.e, by no means so at this time, in this
country :
" Kara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno."
•" Corvo quoque rarior albo."
A phenomenon more rare, Juvenal supposes,
than a white crow or a black swan.
Naribus trahere.
" Menar uno per il naso," It. " Mener par
le nez," " to lead any one by the nose." To
obtain so much influence or such command
over any one, as to induce him to do what-
ever you advise, though equally averse to his
inclination and his interest. The phrase
takes its origin from the custom of leading
animals by rings passed through their nostrils.
This, by ecclesiastical lawyers, is called " hav-
ing the advowson of a man's conscience."
Does not this apply equally to the leaders of
majorities and minorities in certain assem-
blies ?
Ama
( 252 )
Ama tanquam osurus. Odcris tanquam
amaturus.
Or, as the Spaniards say, " quando estes en
enojo, acuerdate que puedes venir a paz, y
quando estes en paz, acuerdate que puedes
venir a enojo," that is, when you are angry
with any one, consider that you may be re-
conciled ; and when you are friends with any
one, that you may be at enmity with him ;
therefore, " del mal que hizieres no tengas
testigo, aunque sea tu amigo," you should not
be so communicative even to your most inti-
mate friend, as to make him privy to your
failings, still less to the vices of which you
should be guilty, as it might tend to alienate
him from you, or enable him to do you an
injury, if your connection should by any
means be dissolved ; an event which, from the
mutability of human affairs and dispositions,
should always be considered as possible at
least : neither should you, on the other
hand, reproach your enemy so bitterly, or
tax him with faults so atrocious, as to make
it
Jt impossible he should ever forgive you ;
as circumstances may occur that may make
it your mutual advantage, or even render
it necessary that your acquaintance should
be renewed. Erasmus states, as one of the
evils attendant on publishing letters to and
from our friends, that occurrences may happen
obliging us to change our opinions, and to
censure those whom we had commended, or to
praise those whom we had before censured :
" jam et illud est incommodi, quod, ut nunc res
sunt mortalium, ex amicissimis nonnunquam
reddantur inimicissimi, et contra ; ut et illos
laudatos, et hos doleas attactos." Erasmus
speaks feelingly here, finding himself called
upon in the latter part of his life, to censure
Ulric Hutton, a violent and turbulent man,
whom in his early works he had liberally com-
mended.
The following observation of the poet
Burns, may be added as further illustrating
this adage. " I am not sure," he says, " not-
withstanding all the sentimental flights of no-
vel-writers, and the sagephilosophy of moralists,
whether we are capable of so intimate and cor-
dial
( 254 )
dial a coalition of friendship, as that one mail
may pour out his bosom, his very thought,
and floating fancy, his very inmost soul, with
unreserved confidence to another, without
hazard of losing part of that respect which man
deserves from man ; or from the unavoidable
imperfection attending human nature, of one
day repenting his confidence." Cicero was,
however, of opinion, that nothing could be
more hostile to the idea of genuine friendship,
than the sentiment contained in this adage,
neither could he believe that it was the saying
of so wise a man as Bion, to whom it is attri-
buted. Certainly it is not in accord with the
picture of true friendship, given in the eluci-
dation of the first and third adages in this:
volume.
Ne Malorum memineris*
Do not revive the memory of troubles that
are past. " Repeat no grievances." The thirty
tyrants, who had seized upon the government
of Athens, having been expelled by Thrasy-
bulus, he enacted a law, "Ne quis de prasteritis
actis
actis accusaretur, aut mulctaretur," that nd
persons should be accused or punished for the
part they had taken during the civil dissen-
sions. He added, "Ne malorum memoriam
revoces," whieh is said to have given origin
to the adage. Not alien to this is what is re-
lated of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. When
he entered Wittenburgh, in the year 1547, he
was much pressed by the Spaniards who were
in his army, to destroy the monument which
had been erected there to Luther, but he
severely reproved them, under penalty of the
forfeiture of their lives, from disturbing the
ashes of that celebrated reformer, to whom he
had nevertheless been, while living, an impla-
cable enemy ; adding, " Nihil mini ultra cum
Luthero," I have nothing further to do with
Luther, he is now amenable to another and a
higher tribunal; neither is it my custom to-
war with the dead, but with those who are
living, and appear in arms against me. Similar
to this was the conduct of Lewis the Eleventh.
When he was urged to deface the monument
of John, Duke of Bedford, who had been
Regent of France in the time of Henry the
Sixth:
( 256 )
Sixth: " He would not," he said, "disturb thft
ashes of the man, whom all France could not
repel when living." Our King Charles the
Second, being recalled from banishment, and
put in possession of his crown and kingdom,
after passing an act of amnesty, required of
his courtiers that they should make no further
mention of their past sufferings, and on any
allusion to them being made, he was used to
check them, reminding them of one of his
father's golden rules, that they were " to re-
peat oo grievances."
Septennis guum sit, nondum edidit Denies.
Though he is seven years of age, he has not
yet cut his teeth, was used to be said to per-
sons, who, though men in years, were, in their
actions, and in their understanding, only
children ; to men passing their time in idle
and boyish amusements, or asking questions
on subjects so trifling and common, that it
would be disgraceful even for children to be
ignorant of them. We say of a person who
suffers himself to be easily outwitted, " he has
not
( 257 )
not got all his teeth," or "he has not cut his
eye-teeth."
Canis festinans cacos parit Catulos.
The dog hastening to produce its young,
brings them into the world blind, that is, im-
mature, and before they are completely formed.
This was used, and may be applied to persons
who are in so much haste to finish what they
undertake, that they leave it imperfect. Those
err similarly, who are too precipitate in giving
their opinion on any work, or action, before
they have had time to examine into its merit.
Lingua, quo vadis ?
Tongue, whither are you going ? The tongue
has been compared, and not unaptly, to the
helm of a ship; though it makes but a small
part of the vessel, yet upon its right or im-
proper movement, depends the safety or de-
struction of the whole. How valuable a dis-
creet and eloquent tongue is, and on the other
hand, what confusion and distress a hasty and
s tur-
( 258 )
turbulent tongue often occasions, we all of us
know ; hence the phrase
" Vincula da linguae, vel tibi vinc'la dabit."
Confine your tongue, or it will bring you into
confinement. Amasis, king of Egypt, having
ordered the philosopher Bias to send him the
best and the worst part of a victim about to
be sacrificed, Bias sent him the tongue of
the animal, intimating, that according as it
was used, that was the part which was capable
of producing the greatest good, or the greatest
evil to the possessor. " Tel coup de langue,
est pire qu'un coup de lance," a stab with the
tongue is worse than a thrust with a lance.
In Node Com ilium.
lt La notte 6 madre di pensiera," night is the
mother of reflection. "La nuit donne conseil,'r
consult, or take counsel of your pillow; that
is, do not precipitately, and on the first pro-
posal, enter into any engagement, that may
have a material influence on your future pro-
spects in life. It is better to sleep, that is, to
deliberate on a business proposed to be done,
than
than to be kept awake by reflections on its
being improvidently finished. Indeed a habit
of deliberating before you act, is useful in in-
ferior matters, taking care, however, that it
may not degenerate into a futile, and trifling
affectation of gravity, that may make you
ridiculous. Our English proverb says, " On
a good bargain think twice." A wise man
rarely determines on the merit of an offer, on
the first view of it, however advantageous it
may seem. A more intimate acquaintance is
wanted to enable him to decide on its actual
value. The worth of the object may be greater
than the price at which it is offered ; but he
will consider whether it may be wanted by him,
or whether by purchasing it at that time, he
may not subject himself to greater inconve-
niences, than the advantages proposed by pos-
sessing it will compensate. "Bon march6 tire
1'argent hors de la bourse," " a good bargain
is a pick-purse." People are often induced to
buy an article because it is cheap, but, "Com-
pra lo que no has menester, y venderas lo que
no podras escusar," " buy what thou hast no
need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy ne-
s2 cessaries;"
( 260 )
cessaries;" and " Quod non opus est asse carum
est," what is not wanted is dear even at a
farthing.
Fronti nulla Fides.
Too much credit must not be given to ap-
pearances. "No es todo oro, lo que reluce,"
and " Tout ce qui reluit n'est pas or," for, all
is not gold that glitters. A beautiful woman
may be a shrew; or a fine horse vicious, or an
ill-goer. A story may be told in such a man-
ner, as to induce us to entertain a much more
favourable opinion of the principal actor in it,
than on a further investigation he shall appear
to deserve. Hence the legal maxim, "Audi
alteram partem," hear the other side. The rule
intended to be inculcated by this maxim, has
been given by the ancients in twenty different
forms, and is in the mouth of every one ; but
though it is so generally known, and the utility
of it so universally assented to, yet it is far
from having that influence on our conduct,
which it seems calculated to produce.
-«&?
Coronam
( 261 )
Coronam quidem gestans, cceterum Siti per-
ditus.
Though bearing a crown, that is, abundantly
honoured, yet dying of thirst, or in want of
necessaries. The adage is supposed to have
taken its origin from the fate of one Connas,
who had been frequently victor in the Olym-
pic and, other games, and therefore often
crowned, and yet was suffered to live and die
in misery and wretchedness. This fate has
attended more than one of the votaries to the
Muses in this country ; though it may be
doubted whether this has happened so much
through the want of patrons and friends, as
from an incorrigible habit of idleness, and dis-
sipation in the sufferers. This was certainly
the case with Savage, and in a stronger degree
with Moreland, an artist of our own time,
famed for his talent in painting rustic scenes.
He died indeed miserable, but rather of drunk-
enness, the vice of Connas also, than of want.
He chose rather, the later years of his life, to
live concealed from his creditors, than by very
moderate exertions, to get what would have
been sufficient to pay his debts, and to support
s 3 him-
himself with credit. The adage was used to
be applied to persons, whose friends were more
liberal in their praise, than in what was neces-
sary for their support and subsistence.
Ubi quis dolet. ibi et ManumJ'requens habet.
"We must scratch where it itches." The
hand will be frequently and spontaneously
moved to the part that is grieved. " Alia va
la lengua, do duele la muela," the tongue goes
to the tooth that is in pain. Men are with
difficulty kept from talking of their misfor-
tunes, or of whatever strongly affects them.
'• What the mind thinks, the tongue speaks,"
or, " Out of the abundance of the heart, the
mouth speaketh." In conversation men are
apt on all occasions to introduce the subjects
that happen to employ their attention; to talk
of their professions, their business, their tra-
vels, or their troubles, without considering
how uninteresting, or even annoying, they
must be to the auditors, and that such dis-
courses should be deferred until the persons
we mean to entertain, may call for, or at the
least
( 263 )
least be disposed to hear them. " Dios te librc
de 1'hombre de un libro," God keep you, the
Spaniards say, from the man who has but one
book.
Quod licet ingratum est, quod non licet
acrius uret.
While it was permitted, we looked upon it
with indifference, it was not until it was
prohibited that we anxiously longed for it.
<f Communiter negligitur, quod communiter
possidetur," what is common, and may be
easily obtained, is in little request.
" Man's curse is, things forbid still to pursue,
What's freely offered, not to hold worth view."
" Furem signata solicitant, aperta effractarius
praeterit," things sealed up excite the cupidity
of the thief, but what lies open is passed by
unnoticed. It was the opinion of one of the
ancients, that executions rather whet than
blunt the edge of vice ; that they do not pro-
duce a desire to do well, but only a care not
to be taken in doing ill.
s 4 Hinc
H'mc illce Lachrymce.
Hence these tears, hence all the concern
he has shewn ; I have not praised his works,
or joined in his projects to amuse and deceive
the public. The adage may be applied on dis-
covering the true causes of the complaints or
actions of any one, which he had studiously
endeavoured to conceal, and to such a cir-
cumstance it owes its origin. Simo, in the
Andrian, supposed at first, that the concern
his son manifested on the death of Chryses,
proceeded from his friendship for the deceased,
but finding, at length, that it arose from his
affection to her sister, equally disappointed
and concerned at the discovery, he burst out
into the exclamation, " Hinc illffi lachrymal,"
this then was the cause of his concern.
Ignis, Mare, Mulier, tria Mala.
Which cannot be better explained than by *
the following lines of Prior.
*' Fire, water, woman, are man's ruin,
Says wise professor Vander Bruin."
"By
( 265 )
" By flames, a house I hired, was lost
Last year, and I must pay the cost.
Next year the sea o'erflowed my ground,
And my best Flanders mare was drowned.
A slave I am to Clara's eyes,
The gipsey knows her power and flies.
Fire, water, woman, are my ruin,
And great thy wisdom, Vander Bruin."
This is something better than the answer of
the Lacedemonian, who being ridiculed for
having married a very little woman, excused
himself, by observing, "that of evils, we should
choose the least." The Spartans, we are told,
fined their king Archidamus, for marrying a
very little woman, concluding that the breed
would degenerate, and that she could only
produce kinglets.
Aureopiscari Hamo.
" Peschar col hamo d'argento," fishing with
a golden or silver hook. Men are often so
eager in pursuit of some favourite object, that
they care not at what cost it is obtained; but
which, when acquired, they find to be of little
value. This is fishing with a golden hook.
The
The proverb was frequent in the mouth of
Augustus Csesar, who used it to restrain the
young men of fashion, at his court, when he
saw them lavishing their fortunes, to obtain
the reputation of having more stately houses,
richer furniture, or finer horses, than others of
their rank, from which they would reap no
solid advantage. It took its rise from a prac-
tice not uncommon with persons who have
been unsuccessful in their sport, who purchase
of more fortunate fishermen a part of what
they have taken, that they may not, by carry-
ing home empty bags, subject themselves to
the laughter of their friends. These therefore
literally fish with golden hooks.
Sera infundo Parcimonia.
It is too late to begin to save when all is
spent.
" It is too late to spare
When me bottom is bare."
" Bolsa vazia faz 6 homo sesuda mas tarde,
an empty purse makes a man wise too late.
To these apothegms we may oppose, "Meglio
tarde
( 267 )
tarde die mai, " " II vaut mieux tarcl que
jamais," " Better late than never," and " It
is never too late to mend." Though by a long
course of imprudence we may have reduced
ourselves to great inconvenience or distress,
we should not despair, scarcely any thing be-
ing impossible for labour and perseverance to
achieve. "Aogni cosa e remedio, fuora qu'
alia morte," there is a remedy for every thing
but death. "Thomas Sackville, earl of Dorset,
having wasted his fortune, was so shocked at
being made to wait in an anti-room at the
house of a citizen, where he went to borrow
money, that he resolved from thenceforward
to become an economist, and by that means
recovered his estate." The proverb, however,
means to recommend that we should pay early
attention to our affairs, and set bounds to
our expenditure, while our estates are entire.
" When thou hast enough, remember the time
of hunger; and when thou art rich, think upon
poverty and need:" take care "that you do
not make the sail too big for the vessel, lest it
should sink." Plato, seeing a young man of
good family, who had wasted his estate, sitting
at
( 268 )
at the door of an inn, feeding on offals, said
to those who were with him, " If this man
had dined temperately, he needed not to have
supped so sparingly." We should consider
that love and respect are rarely conceded to
a lost fortune, and that adversity seldom meets
•with the returns of friendship. "Quien a mano
egena espera, mal yanta y peor cena," he that
depends upon another for subsistence, break-
fasts ill, and sups worse. A man of good edu-
cation, without money, has been compared to
a ship that is well-rigged, but is detained in
port for want of a favourable wind. " Amasser
en saison, depenser par raison, font la bonne
maison," a seasonable gathering, and a reason-
able spending make a good housekeeping. By
a decree of the Emperor Adrian, men who had
wasted their property by gaming, or by fol-
lowing profligate courses, were publicly put
to shame. In later times, the Tuscans brought
such men into the market, on a bier, with an
empty purse before them, and they were obliged
to sit there the whole day, exposed to the de-
rision of the people. Our stocks would be a
good substitute for the bier. At Padua they
had
( 269 )
had a stone, called the seat of turpitude, near
the senate-house, where spendthrifts were com-
pelled to sit with their hinder parts bare, that
by thejr disgrace others might be deterred
from copying their vices. It is too late also
at the latter part of our lives, then to begin to
learn how to live, for though it be true, that
" nulla astas ad perdiscendum sera est," that
is, that it is not impracticable to learn at a
late period ; yet at such a term, we can neither
hope to make the proficiency we might have
done, or to enjoy the benefit from it we should
have obtained if we had begun earlier.
Homines frugi omnia rectkfaciunt.
By a frugal man you may expect every
thing to be justly and faithfully performed.
The same value was attributed to prudence,
which is indeed only another word for fru-
gality; " nullum numen abest si sit pru-
dentia," for without prudence there can be no
virtue. " Sum bonus et frugi," I am honest
and careful, Horace makes his servant say, as
including every virtue. The word frugi among
the
( 270 )
the Romans was of a very extensive significa-
tion, comprehending under it, justice, forti-
tude, constancy and temperance ; by Cicero
it is opposed to nequam, and frugalitas to
neqnitia, as if he thought it impossible for the
improvident and careless to be other than pro-
fligate and wicked, and not perhaps without
reason, as he who is not frugal, will not long
avoid being involved in debt, and he who is
deeply plunged in debt, will be so often ob-
liged to break his engagements, that he will at
length lose all sense of distinction between
o
truth and falsehood; " for lying," as Panta-
gruel tells Panurge, " is only the second vice,
the first vice is being in debt;'' a maxim,
Plutarch says, we have taken from the Per-
sians. Not alien to this is the Italian pro-
verb, " un oncia di prudenza val piu che una
libra d' oro," an ounce of prudence is better
than a pound of gold, and " chi semina virtu
fama raccogli,'' who sows virtue reaps fame.
Sir George Mackenzie, in his history of fru-
gality, says, he heard a Dutch ambassador
tell King Charles the Second, that he had
spent only an hundred guilders in meat and
drink
( 271 )
drink in Holland, during a whole year, nor
had he ever been in better health or company ;
and when the King asked him why he had
done so unusual a thing, he answered, to let
his countrymen see, that one needed not to
have recourse to mean, still less to vicious
practices to get whereon to live : but " there
needed no ghost, methinks, to tell his country-
men that."
Simul sorbere et flare difficile est.
" Sorber y soplar, no se puecle hazar a la
par," it is difficult to sup and blow, that is, to
drink and talk at the same time. Whatever
our employment or pursuit may be, to that we
should direct our thoughts and not distract
our minds by attempting a variety of different
projects at the same time. To bring any one
art or science to perfection, or to achieve any
great object will require our undivided atten-
tion, and must be persevered in for a long
course of time. Milton would not have at-
tained to the eminence to which he rose ill
poetry, nor Newton in philosophy, if they had
not
( 272 )
not confined their studies to those objects.
Rightly therefore the bard,
" One science only will one genius fit,
So vast is art, so narrow human wit."
We are also told in the Scriptures, " that no
man can serve two masters," and that " we
cannot serve God and Mammon." " You can-
not," Phocion said to Antipater, " have me
both for your flatterer and your friend :" and
no man, we are told, can be at once prudent
and in love.
" Amare et sapere vix Deo conceditur."
And the Spaniards say, that honor and profit
cannot exist together, or cannot be contained
in one and the same bag, " Honor y provecho
no caben en un saco." The adage was used
by a servant in one of the comedies of Plau-
tus, whose master had required of him what
was impracticable, viz. to be giving him as-
sistance at home, and doing his business
abroad at the same time.
In Herba esse.
The corn is as yet in the blade, " you are
counting
( 273 )
counting your chickens before they are hatch-
ed;" " hazer la cuenta sin la huespida," or
" reckoning without your host," and " spend-
ing your Michaelmas rent in the Midsummer
moon ;" not considering how many accidents
may happen to thwart and disappoint your
expectations. Young and inexperienced per-
sons are very apt, as soon as they have formed
a plausible project, to begin to reckon their
profits and often to spend them too, and take
it unkind of their friends if they disturb their
confidence with doubts, or do not enter into
their schemes with equal ardour and precipi-
tancy. Poets are also apt, my text says, to
exult too much, on hearing their compositions
praised by those to whom they read them ;
but they should wait if they would know their
true character, until the public have given
their opinion, or until time has stamped them
with its- seal.
Inter indoctos etiam Corydus sonat.
To those unskilled in music the note of the
sparrow may be agreeable, as among illiterate
T persons
( 274 )
persons a dunce may be held in some estima-
tion. The corydus is a species of larks, of a
very inferior quality, which were found in
great abundance near Athens: but as the lark
has some credit among us for its note, the
sparrow is here substituted as better according
with the intention of the adage. " Luscus
convitia jacit in caecum," or " borgne est roy
entre les aveugles," he that hath one eye is a
king among the blind ; and " dixo el cuervo
a la corneja, quita os alia negra," the crow
bids the rook put off his black coat, and the
rook makes the same proposal to the crow.
Ficum cupit.
He wants figs. This was used to be said of
any one paying particular attention to per-
sons much beneath him ; meaning, he is court-
ing me for his own purpose, as may be said
of our gentry going into the shops of little
traders on the eve of a general election, spend-
ing their money with them liberally and treat-
ing them with unusual civility : he wants my
vote.
The
The Athenians were used on the approach
of the season when the figs were coming to
perfection, to visit the cots of the neighbour-
ing peasants, and treat them with great fami-
liarity and kindness, that they might procure
from them some of the finest of the fruit ;
which the rustics at length perceiving, when
any one they did not know, addressed them
in that manner, they would say, what you
want, I suppose, some of our figs ; which
thence became proverbial.
Odium Vatinianum.
Vatinian hatred, by which the Romans
meant to express, an inextinguishable hatred,
such as they bore to Vatinus, for his flagi-
tious vices and cruelty, which had been ex-
posed to them by Cicero.
Ficus Fiats, Ligonem Ligonem vocat.
He calls a fig, a fig ; a spade, a spade. That
is, he is a man of plain and rustic manners,
T 2 and
( 276 )
and calls every thing by its name. " He is
Tom tell-truth." He tells his story as it had
been related to him, and is no respecter of
persons. If a man is just and upright, he gives
him due honour; if crafty and deceitful, what-
ever may be his quality, he calls him a knave.
" But vice has persuaded custom," Sir William
Cornwallis observes, " that to call naught,
naught, is uncivil and dangerous." At any
rate, let those who have any hidden, or not
generally known vices, take care how they
descant upon the follies or vices of others, lest
their own faults should be drawn from their
covert, and exposed to the world. " Desinant
maledicere, malefacta ni noscant sua." .
Bona magis carendo quam fruendo sentimus.
We perceive more the value of an object
when it has escaped from us, than we did when
possessing it, and " Bona a tergo formosis-
sima," good things rarely appear to us in their
full beauty, until we are about to lose them.
The poor man, in the fable, did not know
to what degree he valued life, until death,
whom
( 277 )
whom he had called for, came to take it from
him.
" Pleasures are ever in our hands or eyes,
And when in act they cease, in prospect rise."
" Vdche ne sfait que vaut se queue,
Jusques a ce qu'elle 1'ait perdue."
The co\v did not know the value of her tail,
until she had lost it.
" What we have we prize not to the worth,
Whiles we enjoy it; but being lack'd and lost,
Why then we rack the value; then we find
The virtue, that possession would not give us
Whiles it was ours."
ad Aures guidem scalpendas Ocium est.
He is so full of business, that he has not
time to scratch his ears, by which hyperbolical
expression, the ancients designated persons so
overwhelmed by a multiplicity of employments,
as not to leave them leisure for the most com-
mon and necessary concerns.
T 3 Quot
Quot Servi tot Hostes.
Who has many servants, has as many ene-
mies, which is the way I should choose to
read the adage. If your servants are slaves,
purchased, or taken in war, as they will he
perpetually seeking means to free themselves
from bondage, the more there are of them the
greater the danger, and these are probably the
servants alluded to. In this sense it is not less
true when applied to servants who are hired,
and may be supposed to serve voluntarily. If
you keep more than you have employment
for, they will corrupt each other, and become
vicious through idleness. " Quien ha criados,
ha enemigos no escusados," he who has ser-
vants, has unavoidable enemies. As they can-
not be dispensed with, they are therefore ne-
cessary evils.
The adage more particularly admonishes,
that you do not make confidents of them, but
as far as you are able, keep from them the
knowledge of all circumstances, which di-
vulged might injure you ; but this, if there
are many of them, will not be easily effected.
On this subject Juvenal says,
« O Co-
" O Corydon, Corydon, secretum divitis ullum
Esse putas ? Servi ut taceant ?"
which take as translated by Dryden :
" Dull Corydon ! art thou so stupid grown,
To think a rich man's faults can be unknown ?
Has he not slaves about him ? would not they
Rejoice and laugh, his secrets to betray?
What more effectual to revenge their wrongs,
Than the unbounded freedom of their tongues?"
And though little attention might be paid to
their suffrages, in commendation of their mas-
ters, any scandal they may propagate, will be
readily enough believed. For as the same Poet
says,
" On eagle's wings immortal scandals fly,
While virtuous actions are but born and die."
Prcevisus ante, mollior Ictus venit.
A misfortune that is foreseen affects us less
keenly, than one that falls upon us suddenly
and unexpectedly : we may also by foreseeing
what is about to happen, if not altogether
avoid the stroke, contrive to make it less hurt-
ful to us. Of kin to this, is
T 4 Prce-
( 280 )
Prcemonitus, Pramunitus.
" Forewarned, forearmed ;" which may be
said to any one threatening vengeance. I
thank you for your candour in advertising me
of your intention, I shall now take care to be
prepared for you.
Stultum est timer e quod vitari non potest.
It is foolish to distress ourselves for what
cannot be prevented ; instead of uselessly la-
menting we should summon up our courage,
and endeavour to accommodate ourselves to
the new situation into which we have been
thrown by our misfortunes ; remembering*
" that what can't be cured, must be endured."
Optimum aliena Insanidfrui.
It is good to profit by the follies of others.
" Experience," we say, " makes even fools
wise," but wise men gain experience from the
mis'
( 281 )
misfortunes of others, fools only from their
own ;
" Ex vitio alterius, sapiens emendat suum."
" It is a pleasure," Lord Verulam says, from
Lucretius, " to stand upon the shore and
to see ships tost upon the sea; a pleasure
to stand in the window of a castle, and to
see a battle and the adventure thereof below ;
but no pleasure is comparable to the standing
upon the vantage ground of truth, and to see
the errors and wanderings, and mists and tem-
pests in the vale below. So always," he adds,
" that this prospect be with pity, and not with
swelling or pride."
Acti Labores jucundi.
The remembrance of dangers that are past
is pleasant, particularly if we have escaped by
our own activity, skill, or courage.
Homo est Bulla.
Human life is a bubble. So frail and unsta-
ble is life, so assailable and liable to disease and
accidents, and so easily extinguishable, that
it
( 282 )
it is not unaptly compared to a bubble, which
rising upon water or any other fluid, bursts
and disappears almost as soon as it is formed,
and is succeeded by others equally unsubstan-
tial and evanescent. This fragility of human
life is very properly adduced as an argument
of the immortality of the soul ; the deity
would not have produced into the world a
being endowed with such powers, so capable
of acquiring knowledge, merely to flutter a
few hours on this stage and then to be lost for
.ever. If that were the case, we might then
agree with those philosophers who held it
to be
Optimum non nasci.
Better not to be born, or to have died as
soon as we had seen the light, and before
we should have been subjected " to the thou-
sand natural ills that flesh is heir to." " II n'y
& personne heureux au monde," the French
say, " que celui qui meurt en maillet," none
can be esteemed happy but such as die in
their swaddling clothes; and the Italians to
the
( 283 )
the same purport, " nel mondo non e felice se
non quel che muore in fascie :" for
" " Medio de fonte leporum
Surgit amairaliquid."
Even in the midst of our festivity some me-
lancholy thoughts will intrude themselves to
dash our mirth. And Solomon says, " where-
fore I praised the dead, which are already
dead, more than the living, which are yet
alive; yea, better is he than both they, which
hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil
work that is done under the sun." This sen-
timent is amplified in the following lines of
Prior's Solomon :
" Thrice happy is the man who now at last,
Has through this doleful vale of misery past J
Who to his destined stage, has carried on
The tedious load, and laid his burthen down.
He's happier, yet, who privileged by fate,
To shorter labour, and a lighter weight,
Received but yesterday the gift of breath,
Ordered to-morrow to return to death."
a
On this theme the Grecian poets and philo-
sophers are very eloquent; with them, " dolere
ac vivere," to suffer and to live, were syno-
nimous,
( 284 )
nimous. The following from Translations from
the Greek Anthology will shew this opinion
of the ancients better than any thing I could
add:
" Thracians who howl around an infant's birth,
And give the funeral hour to songs and mirth,
Well in your grief and gladness are express'd,
That life is labour, and that death is rest."
and these,
" Why fear ye death, the parent of repose,
Who numbs the sense of penury and pain ?
He comes but only once ; nor ever throws,
Triumphant once, his painful shaft again ;
But countless ills upon our life intrude,
Recurring oft in sad vicissitude."
I shall insert one other specimen from an un-
known writer, taken from the same collection.
" Waking we burst at each return of morn,
From death's dull fetters, and again are born ;
No longer ours the moments that are past,
To a new remnant of our lives we haste.
Call not the years thine own that made thee grey,
That left their wrinkles, and are fled away ;
The past no more shall yield thee ill or good,
Gone to the silent times beyond the flood."
That life has its evils, and that they more than
balance its comforts, is pretty generally ad-
mitted ;
( 285 )
mitted ; yet we find that even a long continu-
aace of pain and distress, have not the power,
in many of us, of weaning us from a fondness
for it. Seneca makes one of his characters say,
" Debilem facito manu,
Debilem pede, cox4,
Lubricos quate dentes,
Vita dura superest, bene est."
Take from me the use of my hands and of my
feet, dash out my teeth, and inflict upon me a
thousand other ills, preserve but my life, and
I will still be contented.
" Oh what a dreadful thought it is, to die!
To leave the freshness of this upper sky,
For the cold horrors of the funeral rite,
The land of ghosts and everlasting night!
Oh, slay me not ! the weariest life that pain,
The fever of disgrace, the lengthened chain
Of slavery, can impose on mortal breath,
' Is real bliss,' to what we fear of death.
Greek Anthology.
But this was the complaint of a beautiful young
damsel, whose father was about to sacrifice her,
to appease the anger of Diana, whom he had
offended by killing one of her stags. The
goddess took compassion on the lady, and
sub-
( 286 )
substituted a deer in her place. The following
is more to the purpose. Antisthenes, the stoic,
being very sick, and in great pain, cried out,
" Can no one deliver me from these evils ? "
Diogenes, who was with him, presenting him
a knife, said, "This will relieve you." " I do
not mean from my life," replied Antisthenes,
" but from my disease." The point to which
we should aim, and endeavour to arrive at, is,
not to make our continuance in life an object
of too anxious solicitude, but as Martial teaches
"Summum nee metuas diem, nee optas," nei-
ther to wish, nor fear, to die. " Viva la gal-
lina, y viva con su pepita," let the hen live,
though with the pip ; and " a living dog," we
say, "is better than a dead lion."
Harena sine Cake.
Sand without lime. If too much sand or
rubbish be used in making mortar or cement,
it will not cohere, but crumble into dust. The
adage may be applied to any speech or com-
position, in which order and method have been
neglected, where the parts have no congruity
or
or connection. It was by this phrase that the
Emperor Caligula characterised the works of
Seneca, and not entirely without reason, Eras-
mus observes. For though the writings of that
great observer of human life and manners,
abound with just and pertinent observations,
they are frequently given in so desultory a
manner, that it is not easy to follow and con-
nect them together ; the same may be objected
to the elegant, but unconnected Elegies of
Tibullus, and still more justly, perhaps, to
the Essays of Montaigne.
Furemque Fur cognoscit.
The thief knows or acknowledges his brother
thief. Persons of similar manners, but the bad
particularly, are fond of associating together;
indeed when their characters are known, they
cannot easily get other companions. Hence
we say,
" Tell me with whom thou goest,
And I'll tell thee what thou doest."
for, " Cada uno busca a su semejante,',' or
" Chacun aime son semblable," " birds of a
feather will still flock together/'
Ante-
Antequam incipias, consulto.
Consider, or deliberate maturely, before you
undertake any great work or enterprise ; after
you have embarked in it, it may be too late.
"The beginning of all virtue," Demosthenes
observes, " is deliberation ; and the end and
perfection of it, constancy." When you de-
termine to cross the ocean, remember you.
may have to epcounter storms and tempests,
and before you enter on any new project, that
it may fail. It is necessary to be prepared for
every event, and not like the inconsiderate and
foolish man, at every cross incident or obstacle
you meet with, cry " who would have thought
it !" "Things will have," Lord Verulam says,
" their first, or second agitation ; if they be not
tossed upon the arguments of counsel, they will
be tossed upon the waves of fortune, and be
full of inconstancy, doing and undoing, like the
reeling of a drunken man. It is good to com-
mit the beginnings of all great actions to Argus
with his hundred eyes, and the ends to Briareus
with his hundred hands: for the helmet of
Pluto, which maketh the politic man to go
invisible,
( 139 )
invisible, is secrecy in counsel, and celerity in
the execution." Polonius advises his son to
" Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear 't, that th' oppo&er may beware of thee."
END OF VOL. I.
ERRATA, VOL. I,
Page 21. 1. 16. for Crabones, read Crabroncs.
73. 1. for and so long a, read and so a long.
99. 2. for Invenxione, read Invenzione.
123. 10. for capillo, vead lapillo,
1 1. for candido, read candidus.
137. 1. for steftb, read stesso.
145. 14, for has, read have.
148. 2. dele of.
200. 25. /or bate, read bait,
201. 4. for bated, read baited.
225. 24. for happn, read happen-
LONDON:
Printed by C. Ro worth, Bell-yard, Temple-bar.
PROVERBS,
CHIEFLY TAKEN FROM THE
ADAGIA OF ERASMUS,
WITH EXPLANATIONS;
AND FURTHER ILLUSTRATED BY CORRESPONDING
EXAMPLES FROM THE
SPANISH, ITALIAN, FRENCH & ENGLISH
LANGUAGES.
• BY ROBERT BLAND, M.D. F.S.A.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR T. EGERTON, MILITARY LIBRARY,
WHITEHALL.
1814.
London: Printed liv f. Rowoith,
Be 11-yard, Temple-bar.
PROVERBS,
VOLUME THE SECOND,
Mendacem memorem, esse oportet.
IL faut qu'un menteur ait bonne memoire,"
a liar ought to have a good memory. When
a transaction is related exactly as it occurred,
there is no probability that the relater should
at any time vary in his account. The circum-
stance must for ever dwell in his mind, in the
very manner he described it. But if a fictitious
story is told, he must have a good memory to
be able at all times to tell it in the same man-
ner. The liar therefore has little chance that
his fiction shall remain long undiscovered, for
should no other circumstance lead to the de-
tection of it, he will, by not adhering always
to the same story, betray the imposition he has
practised ; and it is well that it is so, as there
is no vice that doth so cover a man with shame,
as to be detected in telling a lie. " Clear and
VOL. ii. r, round
( 6 )
round dealing," Lord Verulam says, " is the
honour of man's nature, while a mixture of
falsehood, is like allay in coin of gold or silver,
which may make the metal work better, hut it
embaseth it." Montaigne says, very happily,
" To accuse a man of lying, is as much as to
say, he is a brave towards God, and a coward
towards man."
Qui bene conjiciet, hunc Vatem perhibeto
optimum.
Let him who conjectures best, who from
circumstances draws the most rational con-
clusions, be esteemed your best counsellor or
adviser, or more literally, let him be your
soothsayer or prophet.
" He that conjectures least amiss,
Of all the best of prophets is."
Do not, like the Africans, and other illiterate
and uncultivated people, consult astrologers,
or diviners, with the view of learning your
future destiny, which cannot with any cer-
tainty be foretold. It is true, as is said of
persons having the second sight in Scotland,
there
( 7 )
there is sometimes- a very near, or perhaps, an
exact coincidence between the prediction and
the event, "Quisest enim, qui totum diem
jaculans, non aliquando conlineat?" for, who
shoots often, will at some time hit the mark.
But on inquiry, it would be found, that they
fail fifty times for once that they are right.
But jugglers, or fortune-tellers, as they are call-
ed, are in no small degree of estimation in this
country, and among persons who should be
ashamed of giving encouragement to such
wretched impostures. Erasmus complains, that
they were not less in vogue in his time, and
that they were resorted to by personages of
the highest rank. " Si fuera adevino, no mu-
riera mesquino," if I were a conjuror, I should
not die a beggar, the Spaniards say, which
shews they do not want encouragement in
that country also. Of the Spaniards, it has
been said, that they are less wise, as the French
are found to be more wise, more politic, at the
least, than from their respective habits and
manners, might be expected.
B 2 Pannus
( 8 )
Pannus lacer.
A tattered garment, which, if a man has the
misfortune to be obliged to appear in, it being
what is first seen and noticed, he is usually
rejected, without trying whether, under that
sordid and wretched outside, there may not
lie talents, which might make him a valuable
associate.
" Want is the scorn of every wealthy fool,
And wit in rags is turn'd to ridicule."
But this might be borne, and it might perhaps
be in some measure compensated, if the con-
tempt in which persons so accoutred are held,
should incite in such as have abilities, so much
industry and frugality, as might guarantee
them from falling into a state of indigence,
which is not so impracticable, as it is often
supposed to be. But when men become in-
digent through misfortune, their distress is
more than doubled, when they find that those
who in their prosperity courted, now turn their
backs upon them, and this, it is to be feared,
is no uncommon case.
" poverty,
When no ill else will do 't, makes all friends fly."
An-
( 9 )
Anciently, when any thing was rejected, and
put away with contempt, it was said to be
thrown away like a worn out and tattered
garment. " Did you observe, how he turned
up his nose at it?" is our more common phrase,
when any thing is refused with disdain.
Chius Dominum emit
»
The Chians purchased for themselves mas-
ters. When their country was conquered by
Mithridates, they were delivered, bound with
chains, to their slaves,/ whom they had pur-
chased, to be by them transported to Colchis.
The adage was used when any one by mis-
management had brought upon himself any
severe calamity.
Multce Manus Onus levius reddunt.
"Many hands make light work." This is
too obvious to need being explained. Of the
same kind are, " Two heads are better than,
one, or why do folks marry?" and "in a mul-
titude of counsellors, there is safety." But the
B 3 oppo-
opposite to this is no less true, and we say,
" too many cooks spoil the broth," and " keep
no more cats than catch mice;"' we know also
that where too many men are employed in the
same business, instead of helping, they often-
times hinder each other.
Spem Pretio ernere.
Paying a high price for some future and in-
cidental advantage. " Parting with the sub-
stance for a shadow." The adage advises not
to part with what we actually possess, upon the
distant prospect of some doubtful or uncer-
tain profit ; " e meglio aver hoggi un uovo,
che dimana una gallina," better an egg to-day
than a hen to-morrow, or " a bird in the hand
is worth two in the bush." It would be worse
than madness in any one in possession of a
competence, or exercising successfully any
business or profession to hazard all in pursuit
of some new scheme, which however promis-
ing in appearance, might fail and_involve him
in ruin : and yet of this folly there are few
but are acquainted with some victims. This,
the
( 11 )
the Spaniards say, is " yr por lana, y bolver
tresquilado," going for wool, and returning
home shorn. How many young men again,
spend whole years of their invaluable time, in
cultivating the friendship of some great man
in the hope of obtaining preferment, and are
only at length weaned from the pursuit, in
the course of which they have submitted to
all those insults and mortifications incident to
a state of dependence, by rinding other, per-
haps less obsequious clients, preferred to the
office which had been pointed out to them as
the reward of their servitude : awaked, at
length, from their dream of prosperity, they
find the loss of the expected office the smallest
part of their misery. They have not only neg-
lected to improve the little fortune they pos-
sessed, but have suffered it to slip completely
away, or have so reduced it as not to have a
sufficiency left for their subsistence ; in the
meantime they have contracted habits of idle-
ness, which render it impossible for them to
search out means of recovering what they have
lost : this is buying hope at a dreadfully high
price indeed ! The adage also alludes to a
B 4 custom,
custom, common, we are told, among the an-
cients, and which has descended to the pre-
sent times, of purchasing the produce of an
orchard while the trees were only in blossom,
or of a field of corn as soon -as the seed was
committed to the ground, at stipulated prices.
This species of gaming was carried so far,
that it was not unusual to buy a draught of
fishes, or so many as should be taken at one
cast of a net; or all the game that should be
taken in one day's hunting : and laws, we are
told, were framed to regulate this kind of
traffic.
" Lord Bacon, being in York-house garden,
looking on fishers as they were throwing their
net, asked them what they would take for their
draught; they answered so much, his lordship
would offer them only so much ; they drew
up their net, and in it were only two or three
little fishes ; his lordship then told them, it
had been better for them to have taken his
offer ; they replied, they hoped to have had a
better draught; but, said his lordship, " hope
is a good breakfast, but a bad supper." Au-
brey's Manuscripts.
JEgrot?
( 13 >
JEgroto dum Anima est Spes est.
" While there is life, there is hope," and
" there is life in a muscle." We should not
give up our exertions too early ; what is dif-
ficult, is not therefore to be deemed impossi-
ble, as persons apparently at the point of death
are sometimes found to recover; and a turn not
unfrequently takes place in our affairs, and we
are rescued from difficulties that seemed at
one time hopeless and irremediable.
Tempus omnia revelai.
Time brings all things to light. Truth has
therefore been called the daughter of Time, or
as the Spaniards say, of God, " la verdad es
hija de Dios;" the wicked man hence knows
no peace, but lives in perpetual fear that time,
the great revealer of secrets, should tear off
the veil that hides his crimes and shew him in
his true colours. But time also overturns and
destroys every thing, and takes away even the
memory of them. Hence we have
Tempus
( 14 )
Tempus edax Rerum.
Which cannot be better exemplified than
by the following lines :
" Time lays his hand
On pyramids of brass, and ruins quite
What all the fond artificers did think
Immortal workmanship. He sends his worms
To books, to old records, and they devour
Th' inscriptions ; he loves ingratitude,
For he destroys the memory of man."
Quo semel est iinbuta recens, servabit Odorem
Testa diu.
Vessels will for a long time preserve the scent
of the liquor first put into them, or with which
they were first impregnated. This observa-
tion is very happily introduced by Horace, to
shew the necessity of instilling early good
principles into the minds of young people ;
" maxima debetur pueris reverentia :" and
" Nil dictu foedum visuve hcec limina tangat
Intra quae puer est."
we should reverence youth ; that is, we should
take
take care that nothing be said or done in
their presence offensive to good morals, that
we may not suffer the cruel reflection of hav-
ing led them into vice by our example.
" Sincerum est nisi vas, quodcunque infundis acescit."
For as, unless the vessel is kept clean and
untainted, whatever is put into it will be
spoiled : if the mind be corrupted when young,
it will afterwards reject the most salutary pre-
cepts.
Philip of Macedon thought a good educa-
tion of so much importance, that next to the
pleasure he experienced in having a son to
whom he might leave his empire, he esteemed
that of his being born at a time when he was
able to procure for him so excellent a precep-
tor as Aristotle; under whose tuition he placed
him as soon as he was of an age to receive
his instruction. " It would be well," Roger
Ascham says, " that we should adopt the man-
ners of the Persians, whose children to the
age of twenty-one years were brought up in
learning and exercises of labour, and that in
such places, where they should neither see
that
( IS )
that was uncomely, nor hear that was unho-
nest."
Oculus dexter mlhi sulit.
" My right eye itches," I shall see whom I
have long wished for; and,
" Num vobis tinniebant aures, Parmeno?"
Did not your ears tingle ? for your mistress
was talking of you. We also say, " my face
flushes," some one is talking of me ; and " my
elbow itches," I shall be kissed by a fool.
Plautus has many similar phrases in his come-
dies ; whence we learn, that these supersti-
tious fancies have prevailed among the com-
mon people in all ages.
Sequitur Ver Hyemem.
The spring follows the winter, sunshine
succeeds to rain : " apres ce tems-ci il en
viendra un autre," after this season will come
another and a different one. This, and other si-
milar phrases have been used both by ancients
and
( 17 )
and moderns, to encourage men to bear their
troubles with constancy, by the consolatory
reflection that they cannot last forever. For
though it be true, as the Spaniard notices,
" en cada sendero, ay su atolledera," that in
every road there are sloughs in some part of
it, when these are passed the rest of the way,
may be smooth and level. " It is a long lane,"
we say, " that has no end," and " when things
are at the worst they will mend;" for " etiani
mala fortuna suas habet levitates," even ill-
fortune is changeable and will not last forever;
but prosperity is probably still more faithless
than adversity : when we have attained the
summit of our wishes, we may be doomed to
suffer an early reverse, and our fall will be
the more severe, the greater the eminence
from which we are precipitated. " Di gran
subida gran caicla," from a great height a
great fall, and " after sweet meat comes sour
sauce."
" The prosperous man to-day puts forth
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him :
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ;
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His
( 18 )
His greatness is a ripening, nips his root.
And then he falls as I do."
Woohey's Speech in King Henry VIII.
Tanguam Ungues Digitosque suos.
The subject is as familiar and as well known
to me, as are my fingers ; to be perfectly
conversant with a business, or to have it, as
we say, " at our fingers' ends."
Rem Acu tetigisti.
"You have hit the matter to a4iair," or
" the nail on the head," that is, you are per-
fectly right in your conjecture.
Dies adimit JEgritudinem.
Time cures the greatest afflictions. There is
no trouble, however pungent, which time has
not the power of softening or removing. It is
also esteemed to have no small influence in
curing diseases affecting the body.
" Medi-
( 19 )
" Medicus dedit qui temporis morbo raoram,
Is plus remedii quam cutis sector dedit."
/
The physician who allows the disease to sub-
sicle gradually, is more successful than he who
has immediate recourse to rough and violent
remedies, which is not unlike the following,
" El tiempo cura el enfermo, que no el un-
guento," it is time, and not medicine that
cures the disease. The Spaniards do not ap-
pear to have had much reverence either for
medicines, or for the dispensers of them. " Si
tienes medico amigo, quitale la gorra, y em-
bialo a casa de tu enemigo," if you have a
physician for your friend, make your bow to
him, and send him to your enemy, as the surest
way to get rid of him. Time also brings things
to perfection. " Col tempo et la paglia si ma-
turano mespoli," time and straw make med-
lars ripe.
Quid nisi Victis Dolor.
What but misery to the conquered; and
" vae victis !" woe to the conquered ! was the
cruel taunt of Brennus to the Romans, com-
plaining
( 20 )
plaining that he exacted more than they had
stipulated to pay, as a ransom for their city;
reproaching them, perhaps, that they had not
made so strenuous a defence as they ought to
have done, before they capitulated. It should
be sounded in the ears of the careless, the in-
dolent, arid the profligate, in short, of all who,
having nothing but their genius or their in-
dustry to depend upon for their support, pass
their time in sloth and inactivity; or who dis-
sipate the property left them by their parents,
in the foolish, or perhaps criminal indulgence
of their passions. What pleasure, or what
comforts, are to be purchased by poverty,
and what are they to expect, when they have
reduced themselves to a state of indigence,
but the neglect of those who would have been
their friends, or the cold consolation of pity ?
How little relief distress may expect from pity,
the following very just observations of Gold-
smith shew : "Pity and friendship are passions
incompatible with each other; and it is impos-
sible that both can reside in any breast, for
the smallest space of time, without impairing
each other. Friendship is made up of esteem
'w and
( 21 )
and pleasure, but pity is composed of sorrow
and contempt. In fact, "he adds, "pity, though
it may often relieve, is but at best a short lived
passion, and seldom affords distress more than
a transitory assistance," which is consonant to
the following observation of Dryden,
"pity only with new objects stays,
But with the tedious sight of woe decays."
Vino vendibili suspensd Hedera nihil Opus.
" Good wine needs no bush." Good actions
are their own interpreters, they need no rhe-
toric to adorn them. The phrase derives its
origin from a custom among vintners, of
hanging out the representation of an ivy bush,
as an indication that they sell wine; a custom
common in Germany, in the time of Erasmus,
and probably much earlier. It is still continued
among us ; many of the principal inns in this
kingdom, both in town and country, being
known by the sign of the bush. While signs
were in fashion, Bacchus astride on his tun,
and ample bunches of grapes, with their hand-
some foliage, were also very general designa-
VOL. ir, c ttons
tions of the good liquor that was to be had
within. The proverb is applicable to persons
too earnest in their commendation of any ar-
ticles they are desirous of selling. The Spa-
niards therefore say, *' El vino que es bueno,
no ha menestcr pregonero," the wine that is
good needs no trumpeter.
The ivy is said to be an antidote to the in-
toxicating power of wine, hence Bacchus is
always painted with a wreath of ivy on his
head, and it may be that it was on account of
this supposed property, that in old times a
bush of ivy was chosen, in preference to any
other, by the vintners. The proverb has been
pretty generally adopted. " Al buon vino,"
the Italians say, " non bisogna frasca," and
the French, " Le bon vin n'a point besoin de
buchcron." Is this the origin of the vulgar
o o
term "Bosky," applied to persons who are
tipsy, or drunk, viz. he has been under the
bush? The Scotch, who are accustomed to fix
a bunch of hay against houses where ale is
sold, say, "Good ale needs no whisp."
Anus
( 23 )
Anus Simla, serd quidem.
The old ape is taken at length. This was
said, when any one, who for a long time, by
craft and cunning, had succeeded in plunder-
ing his neighbours, was at last taken, and
condemned to suffer the punishment due to
his crimes. Our English proverb has it, "The;
old fox is caught at last."
Spartam nactus es hanc orna.
Endeavour to acquit yourself well in what-
ever station or condition of life your lot may
happen to be cast
" Honour and shame from no conditions rise,
Act well your part, there all the honour lies."
The adage is of general application. Princes,
nobles, bishops, lawyers, soldiers, and the
meanest individuals, have each of them their
distinct province; let them fill them worthily.
" Each might his several province well command,
Would all but stoop to what they understand."
" England expects that every man will do
his duty," was the animated speech of Lord
c 2 Nelson
( 24 )
Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar, where that
hero unfortunately fell ; or not, perhaps, un-
fortunately for himself, as it was in the midst
of victory, and crowned with glory. Had he
died immediately after his unsuccessful at-
tempt on the coast of France, or on his expe-
dition to Denmark, he would have left his
fame somewhat diminished, which by his last
brilliant action was again mounted to the stars ;
for the victory at the Nile was not less bril-
liant than that off Trafalgar. Either of them
\vould have been sufficient to immortalise his
name.
Ac k guoi'is Ligno 1\ fer cur ius fiat.
A statue of Mercury may not be made from
every kind of wood. All dispositions and
capacities are not adapted to the higher walks
of literature. It is incumbent on parents to
educate their children, but they should give
them such instruction, as is suited to their
talents. Artificers are careful to make choice
of materials fit for the work they have in hand,
whether metal, stone, or wood ; using the
coarser
coarser sort for rough and common articles, the,
finer for those that require to be more exqui-
sitely finished. " You cannot make," we say,
"a silken purse of a sow's ear," or " a horn of
a pig's tail," or " a good coat," the Spaniards
say, " of coarse or bad wool." " De ruyn paiio
nunca buen sayo."
Ne Gladium tollas Mulier.
Women should not attempt to wield a sword,
for which they are incompetent. Employ in
every business means adapted and adequate
to the purpose; also take care not to irritate
any one whom you are not able to stand
against, or oppose successfully. Brutus ob-
served, that Cicero should not have railed
against, and provoked Marc Anthony, who
was much more powerful than himself. In
the end, this imprudence cost Cicero his life.
What, however, shall we say of those heroines,
Judith in sacred, and Joan of Arc in modern
history, or of the Amazons, who wielded this
forbidden weapon with such advantage against
their enemies, in defiance of tlus adage?
c 3 £.n-
Exiguum Malum, ingens Eonum.
" III luck is good for something." From a
small evil, to extract a considerable advantage,
is the property of a sound and prudent mind. It
is next to profiting by the errors and mischances
of others, to take warning by some check we
may meet with in our progress, and thence to
alter our course. " El hombre mancebo perdi-
endo gana seso," a young man by losing, gains
knowledge. If persons, who are living more
expensively than their income permits, would
be wanted by the first difficulty or disgrace
they suffer, and would institute modes of liv-
ing more suitable to their circumstances, they
would soonrecoverwhat by their improvidence
they had wasted. But pride, a fear of shewing
to their companions they are not so wealthy as
they had boasted, or had appeared to be, pre-
vents their following this salutary counsel,
and they go on until their fall becomes in-
evitable. " Si quid feceris honestum cum la-
bore, labor abit, honestum manet Si quid
feceris turpe cum voluptate, voluptas abit,
turpitude manet," which may be thus ren-
dered :
( 27 )
dered : if by labour and difficulty you have
procured to yourself an advantage, the benefit
will remain, when the labour with which it
was acquired will be forgotten. But if in pur-
suit of pleasure you have degraded yourself,
the disgrace will remain, while no traces of
the pleasure will be retained in your memory.
Ipse semet canit.
" Is your trumpeter dead, that you arc
obliged to praise yourself?" This may be con-
sidered as a caution against vain blasting.
Act so as to be deserving of commendation ;
and though you should not meet with all the
applause you may deserve, you will have the
testimony of your own mind, which will be
abundantly satisfactory. Hear, O ye Vene-
tians, and I will tell ye which is the best thin 2;
' •/ O
in the world : " To contemn it." Sebastian
Foscarius, sometime Duke of Venice, ordered
this to be inscribed on his tomb.
Telpsiim non alens, Canes alls.
Not having sufficient for your own support,
c 4 do
( 28 )
do you pretend to keep dogs ? This was used
to be applied to persons whose income, insuf-
ficient to supply them with necessaries, was
laid out in superfluities ; in keeping servants
and horses, or in an ostentatious use of gaudy
clothes, furniture, or other articles of luxury,
unbecoming th'eir circumstances. " Los que
cabras no tienen, y cabritos venden, de donde
lo vienen ?" those who, having no goats, yet
sell kids, whence do they get them ? is said by
the Spaniards, of persons who, having no es-
tates, qr known income, yet contrive to live at
a great expense.
Cantilenam eandem cams.
To be always singing the same tune, or tell-
ing the same stories, which, though at the first
they might be interesting and pleasant, at
length become, by repetition, tiresome and
disgusting. " Dieu nous garde d'un horn me
qui n'a qu'une affaire;" God keep us, the
French say, from a man who is only acquaint-
ed with one subject, on which he is capable of
conversing; he will introduce it on all occa-
sions,
sions, though it have no affinity to the subject
which the company are discussing. "He will
lug it in by the neck and shoulders."
Ignavis semper Ferice sunt.
To the indolent every day is a holiday, or
clay of rest. Erasmus has taken occasion, in
the explication of this sentence, to shew the
mischiefs incurred by the increasing number
of festivals or holidays, enjoined by the church.
They were intended, he observes, as days of
necessary relaxation for the labouring poor,
but were too frequently passed by them in
the grossest debauchery. The abolishing the
greater part of these holidays, may be esteem-
ed, as not the smallest of the many advantages
produced to this country by the Reformation.
Ne Verb a pro Farina.
" Fair words butter no parsnips." Though
we may for a time be satisfied with kind
speeches, and fair promises, yet as we cannot
take
( 30 )
take them to the market, or they will not pass
there, the satisfaction derived from them will
be but short-lived, and when we find them
totally unproductive, and that they were
merely unmeaning expletives, our resentment
will be in proportion to the dependence we
had placed on them, and to the time we have
lost in the vain expectation of some promised
benefit.
Timidi nunquam statuerunt Trophceum.
Timid persons and such as are not pos-
sessed of personal courage, must not expect to
be honoured with a triumph, which is only ac-
corded to those who have by their valour ob-
tained some signal victory. " Qui a peur de
feuilles ne doit aller au bois," " he that is
afraid of leaves, must not go into a wood/'
Persons of timid dispositions should not en-
gage in hazardous undertakings, or attempt
what can only be achieved by courage and
prowess ; " al hombre osado, la fortuna da la
mano," " fortune favours the bold," " faint
heart never won fair lady," and " none but
the brave deserve the fair !"
Aliorum
( 31 )
Aliorum Medicus, ipse Ulcerlbus scales.
" Who boast of curing poor and rich,
Yet are themselves all over itch.'*
Physicians pretending to cure the diseases of
others, and are themselves loaded with com-
plaints, are the immediate objects of the cen-
sure contained in this adage ; but it may also
be applied to persons railing against vices to
which they are themselves addicted. Persons
whose office it is instruct the people in the
duties of morality and religion, should consi-
der how much their admonitions will lose of
their weight and efficacy if their conduct is
not in a great degree, at the least, consonant
to their doctrine; if they cannot entirely re-
frain from vice, they should be extremely
careful to conceal their deviations from the
precepts they mean to inculcate, lest their ex-
ample should be more powerful than their lec-
tures.
Ne Jfcsopum quidem trivit.
He has not been taught even the fables of
, was used to be said of persons totally
illiterate ; whose education has been so neg-
lected, that they had not been initiated in the
rudiments of literature ; " he has not read his
horn-book or his primer," or "does not know
his alphabet," we say on similar occasions.
The horn-book, it is known, is a piece of
board six or seven inches long and four or
five broad, on which is pasted a strip of paper
containing the alphabet in capital and small
letters, covered with a plate of transparent
horn, to guard it from the fingers of the young
subjects, to whose use it is dedicated : this
description may seem superfluous at present,
but horn-books are now so little used, that, it
is probable, should the name of the contrivance
continue, the form and fashion of it will in a
short time be lost. To the same purport is
Neque nature, neque Literas.
He has neither been taught to read nor to
swim, two things which the Grecians and Ro-
mans were careful their children should be in-
structed in early ; and which it was held to
be disgraceful not to have learned,
Non
( S3 )
Non est mihi cornea Fibra.
I am not made of horn, of brass, of iron, or
such like impenetrable stuff, as to be so totally
void of sense or proper feeling, that I should
hear unmoved a tale of so much distress ; or
so difficult of persuasion, that I should not
listen to so reasonable a request.
Non est Remedium adversus Sycophants
Morsum.
There is no remedy against the tongue of
the sycophant, who, by pretended concern for
your interest, worm themselves into your con-
fidence and get acquainted with your most
intimate concerns. When men who are in-
different to you affect a more than ordinary
regard for your interest, you should be cau-
tious how you converse with them ;
" Halaga la cola el can
Non por ti, sino por el pan,"
the dog wags his tail not for you but for
your bread. It might be well if the sycophant
were content with pillaging, but more usu-
ally they flatter only to betray you ; such men
are
are said, " halagar con la cola, y morder con
la boca," to bite while they fawn upon you
and, if they are as crafty as they are malevo-
lent, you will not discover the villany of their
dispositions until they have done you some
irremediable mischief; until they have alie-
nated the minds of your friends, or raised such
dissensions in your family as nothing but
death will extinguish. When lago saw that
he had succeeded in exciting in Othello a sus-
picion of the incontinence of Desdemona, he
says, exulting in the success of his villany,
• " Not poppy, nor mandragore,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep
Which thou ow'dst yesterday."
The ancients supposed that there were ma-
gic rings which had the power of defending
those who wore them from certain diseases,
inflicted, as they imagined, by inchantment
or witchcraft, but even these were insufficient
to protect them from the tongue of the slan-
derer.
Dentem
Dent em Dente rodere.
It is one tooth biting another, was used to
be said to any one attempting to hurt what
was out of his reach, and could not be af-
fected by him : or affronting one who could
return the insult with interest; or having a
contest with persons capable of doing him
more mischief than he could do them. It has
the same sense as, " verberare lapidem," beat-
ing a stone; " do not shew your teeth," we
say, "when you cannot bite." The adage
probably took its rise from the fable of the
serpent gnawing a file, which it met with in a
smith's shop, by which it made its own gums
bleed but without hurting the file.
Frustra Herculi.
That is, should any one call Hercules a
coward, who would listen to him ? .The- adage
was applied to anyone speaking ill of persons of
known and approved integrity and character.
•When Cato, whose worth had been often tried,
was
( 36 )
was accused of avarice ; this, Plutarch said,
was as if any one should reproach Hercules
with want of courage.
Ne in Neroum erumpat.
The string may break; this was said to per-
sons who, emboldened by success, were per-
petually engaging in new exploits : such per-
sons were advised by this apothegm to desist,
they had done enough to shew their skill or
courage ; a reverse might happen, or by one
wrong step they might lose all the honour or
emolument they had gained. " The pitcher
that goes often to the well returns broken at
last."
The adage takes its rise from bowmen who,
by overstraining the string, at length occa-
sion it to break, not without danger to them-
selves.
Pluris est oculatus Testis unus, quam auriti
decent.
Better one eye-witness than ten who only
know
( 37 )
know a thing from hearsay ; or, what we see
with our own eyes, is rather to be believed
than what we learn only from report, for " ver y
creer," " seeing is believing," and " ojos que
no ven, coracon que no llora," " what the eye
doth not see, the heart doth not rue."
In caducum Parietem indinare.
Leaning on a broken staff, which cannot
support you, or " on a bruised reed which
will pierce your hand and wound you ;" lite-
rally upon a weak and tottering wall; meta-
phorically, trusting to a false friend who will
betray you, or to one who is incapable of per-
forming what he promises, or of furnishing the
assistance which he undertook to afford you.
Qui jacet in Terra, non hahet undc cadat.
He who is at the bottom can fall no lower.
When plunged into the gulph of poverty and
misery all fear of further distress is over, no
change can take place but it must be for the
better; and so unsettled are all sublunary
VOL. LI. D thins
things that a change may always be expected,
or time and use will make the greatest trouble
tolerable. Hope and patience are two sove-
reign remedies, affording the softest cushion
to lean on in adversity. " Grata superveniet
quae non sperabitur hora," a day of relief
beyond expectation may come, and turn a
lowering morning to a fair afternoon ; or at the
worst, death will at length put an end to our
misery, and when a traveller arrives at the end
of his journey, he soon forgets the hardships
and difficulties he met with on the road. It
was an observation of Seneca, that " bona
re rum secundarum sunt optabilia, adversarum
mirabilia," the good things which belong to
prosperity, are to be wished ; but the good
things that belong to adversity are to be ad-
mired. Queen Catherine, who was repudiated
by Henry the Eighth, used to say, that " she
would not willingly endure the extremity of
either fortune ; but if it were so that of ne-
cessity she must undergo the one, she would
be in adversity, because comfort was never
wanting in that state, but still counsel and
self-government were defective in the other."
"If
( 39 )
" If you have acquired," Plutarch says, " a
command over your passions, and are become
wise and virtuous, you will be pleased with
wealth, for enabling you to be useful to many;
with poverty, for not having much to care
for; with fame, for procuring you honour;
and with obscurity, for keeping you from be-
ing envied."
Verecundia inutilis Viro egenti.
Bashfulness is of no use to a man in want.
The adage teaches that persons liberally edu-
cated but in mean circumstances, should not
refuse to undertake offices, though beneath
them, which might be executed without of-
fending against any moral or religious duty.
This many do, not from their objection to
the labour, but from being ashamed to appear
to their friends, or to the world in a degraded
situation ; they can contemn pleasure, and
bear pain or grief with firmness, but reproach
and obloquy breaks and overwhelms them.
It is the disgrace more than the confinement
that makes a prison hateful. When Johnson
D 2 found
( 40 )
found a pair of shoes placed at his door by
one of his fellow students, actuated by false
shame or by pride, he threw them, with great
indignation, out of the window ; though his
own were so much worn as not to keep his feet
from the stones. But bashfulness or false
modesty is more than useless also, when it
deters men from laying open their circum-
stances to their friends, who both might and
would, by their advice or otherwise, relieve
them, until, by delay, they are become so in-
volved that nothing can prevent their fall : or
when it leads them to conceal their bodily com-
plaints, which not unfrequently happens, from
the physician or surgeon, until they no longer
admit of being cured.
Sustine ct abstine.
Bear and forbear, a phrase frequently used
by Kpictetus, as embracing almost the whole
that philosophy or human reason can teach us-
Of this Epictetus was a memorable example,
no man bearing the evils of life with more
constancy or less coveting its enjoyments.
His
( 41 )
His master Epaphroclitus, for he was a slave
in the early part of his life, diverting himself
with striking his leg with a large stick, he
told him, that if he continued to give such
heavy strokes he would hreak the hone;
which happening as he had foretold, all that
he said on the occasion was, u did not I tell
you, you would break my leg." When after-
wards he had obtained his liberty and was
much followed as a teacher of philosophy, he
still lived in the plainest and simplest man-
ner; his house or cottage had no door, and
the little furniture it contained was of the
meanest kind. When an iron lamp by which
he used to study, was stolen, he said, " I shall
deceive the thief if he should come again, as
he will only find an earthen one." This
earthen lamp, Lucian tells us, was sold for
three thousand drachmas or groats, £75
of our money. He is said to have lived to
his ninety-sixth year. The Mexicans, with-
out being beholden to the tenets of philoso-
phy, have learnt from experience the neces-
sity of undergoing trouble ; they say to their
children on being born, " thou art come into
D 3 the
( 42 )
the world, child, to endure ; suffer, therefore,
and be silent.
Naturam expellas Furca tamen usque
recurret.
Which may be aptly enough rendered by
our English proverb, " what is bred in the
bone, will never get out of the flesh." " Lu-
pus pilum mutat, non mentem," it is easier
for the wolf to change his coat than his dispo-
sition : habits are with difficulty changed, and
with greater difficulty if of such long conti-
nuance as to become a second nature. As
the bough of a tree drawn from its natural
course, recoils and returns to its old position as
soon as the force by which it had been restrained
is removed ; so do we return to old habits as
soon as the motives, whether interest or fear,
which had induced us to quit them, are done
away : the cat that had been transformed into
a fine lady, on seeing a mouse, forgetting the
decorum required by her new form, sprung
from the table where she was sitting to seize
on her prey. " Vizio di natura dura fino alia
sepol-
( 43 )
sepoltura," the vice that is born with us or is
become natural to us, accompanies us to the
grave. A rich miser being at the point of death,
his confessor placed before him a large ^silver
crucifix, and was about to begin an exhorta-
tion, when the usurer, fixing his eyes on the
crucifix, said, " I cannot., sir, lend you much
upon this."
See the camel is dancing, may be said,
when we see a very austere person laughing,
or any one doing what is contrary to his usual
habit or disposition.
Optimum Condimentum Fames.
" Appetite non vuol salza," " hunger is the
best sauce." This apothegm was frequently
in the mouth of Socrates deriding his volup-
tuous countrymen, whose tables were fur-
nished with every species of luxury, and who
used a variety of provocatives to stir up an
appetite, which might be so much better ex-
cited, he told them, at so easy a rate.
D 4 Oestro
(44 )
Oestro percitus.
This was said of persons who were seized
with a sudden commotion or disturbance ot the
mind, as poets by the inspiration of the Muses,
from some resemblance in their conduct,
as it was supposed, to cattle that had been
bitten by the oestrum or gad-fly. It is known
that cattle have such extreme horror of this
insect, that on only hearing the noise it makes
when flying, they run about the fields as if
they were mad. The adage was also used
when any one was seen to apply himself in-
tensely to any kind of business, or study.
" But what fly," Friar John says, " has struck
Panurge, that he is of late become so hard a
student ? " " What maggot," we say, " has he
got in his head."
Tanquam Argivum Clypeum abstulerit, it a
gloriatur.
He is as proud of the transaction, as if he
had despoiled a Grecian warrior of his shield.
The Greeks and Romans defended their shields
with
( 45 )
with the greatest pertinacity, it being held in
the highest degree dishonourable to suffer
them to be taken from them. The adage was
used to be applied to persons boasting of some
insignificant exploit, and magnifying it, as if
they had saved a friend, or their country from
destruction.
Frustra habet, qui non utitur.
It is in vain that he possesses that of which
he makes no use. Of what use are horses or
carriages to persons who never go abroad, of
wit or knowledge to those who do not employ
them in the management of their affairs, or of
money to the avaricious, who are averse to, or
afraid of spending it, even for necessary sus-
tenance.
E tardigradis Asinis Equus non prodiit.
The horse is not the progeny of the slow
paced ass, the sheep of the lion. We do not
easily believe a dull and stupid man to be the
son of an acute, sensible and ingenious parent;
a coward,
( 46 )
a coward, of a brave and spirited, or a de-
bauched and worthless man, to be the progeny
of a good and worthy sire; and yet these ano-
malies not ^infrequently occur.
Fames et Mora Eilem in Nasum conchint.
Hunger, if not speedily satisfied, or any un-
seasonable delay in obtaining what we ear-
nestly desire, excites the bile in the nostrils.
To raise or heat the bile, is used metaphorically
for inflaming the passions; and as some men,
and many animals, are observed to inflate or
blow out their nostrils when angry, it is said
to excite the bile in that organ. The bull,
when enraged, is described as breathing fire
from his nostrils, and of the horse it is said,
"the glory of his nostrils is terrible." The
impatience with which we support delay in
gratifying our expectation is beautifully paint-
ed by Solomon in the following : " Hope de-
ferred, maketh the heart sick, but when it is
accomplished, it is a tree of life."
Tuum
( 47 )
Tuum tlbi narro Somnium,
May be said to any one pretending an inti-
mate acquaintance with the private concerns
of another; and I will tell you the subject of
your last night's dream.
Qui Nucleum esse vult, Nucem frangat oportet.
" Qui veut manger de noyau, qu'il casse la
noix," he that would eat the kernel, must
break the shell; and, "He that will not work,
must not expect to eat." " No hay dulzura,
sin sudor," no sweet, without sweat. " No hay
ganancia, sin fatiga," no gains, without pains;
and " El que trabaja y madra, hila oro," he
who labours and strives, spins gold. This
rule is applicable to persons in every station,
the labour only varies in kind, but all must
perform a part. Providence has ordained that
every thing necessary to our subsistence, as
well as those which custom or habit have made
so to our comfort, as apparel, furniture, houses,
should only be obtained by labour and exer-
tion. To this law the wealthy, and those born
to
( 43 )
to high rank and distinction, are equally sub-
jected with the poor. As the earth will not
produce such a portion of food as is necessary
for the support of its numerous inhabitants,
unless it be cultivated, the labour of perform-
ing which, is usually the lot of the poor; so
neither can men be rendered fit to manage
large possessions, or fill high stations, unless
their minds be well stored with knowledge,
which is not to be acquired without equal care
and diligence.
" The chiefest action for a man of spirit,
Is never to be out of action ; \ve should think
The soul was never put into the body,
AVhich has so many rare and curious pieces
Of mathematical morion, to stand still.
Virtue is ever sowing of her seeds,
In the trenches for the soldier ; in wakeful study
For the scholar; in the furrows of the sea
For men of that profession ; of all which
Arises, and springs up honour."
Juxta Fluviitm Puteumfodit.
It is digging a well in the neighbourhood
©f a river, may be said to persons doing any
thing
( 49 )
thing perfectly preposterous, and useless, as
giving money, books, or any other articles, to
persons who have of them already, more than
they have opportunity or inclination to use.
Beneficium accipere est Libertatem vendere.
He that accepts a favour, forfeits his liberty.
By receiving obligations, particularly if from
persons of bad morals, you are precluded the
liberty of censuring vices so freely as you
might be disposed, or as the subject you are
treating might require, especially those vices
of which you know. them to be guilty; and in
public dissensions, you are restrained from
maintaining your own opinion, unless it ac-
cords with that of your patron. Erasmus,
who manifestly held the same opinions on
many points of religion, as were taught by
Luther and his followers, was yet restrained
from openly espousing them, as he received
nearly the whole of his income, from persons
of the Romish persuasion. " Fille qui prend,"
the French sa}', "son corps vend." The maid
who takes presents, has deprived herself of the
power
( 50 )
power of saying "no," or must permit liberties
to be taken with her, which she would other-
wise resist. " Springes to catch woodcocks,"
says the sententious Polonius, cautioning his
daughter against giving credit to Hamlet's
promises and presents.
Furari Litorts Arenas.
It is stealing sand from the sea shore, may be
said to persons taking home with them, and
prizing things of no value, and which are
neglected and daily trodden under our feet.
Pulverem Oculis ejfundere.
" Jetter de la poudre aux yeux de quelqu'
un," throwing dust into the eyes of any one,
that he may not see what is going on before
him. The adage is applicable to any one at-
tempting to make a business, in itself obvious,
obscure and difficult. A useful stratagem in
war, where it can be effected, is to put an
army into such a position, that in marching
up to the enemy, the dust may be driven to
their
their faces, and from this, the adage is sup-
posed to have taken its origin. Giving a bribe
with the view of obtaining an unjust decision
in any business, is also called throwing dust
into the eyes of the party.
Oderint modo metuant.
Let them hate me, so they do but fear me.
But he of whom many are afraid, ought to be
afraid of many, as was exemplified in the case
of the Emperor Tiberius, who had this saying
frequent in his mouth. He lived to be univer-
sally feared and execrated, and knowing what
a host of enemies he had created by his cruel-
ties and lust, he found it necessary to go into
a sort of banishment, in the island of Caprea,
where he drew out a miserable existence,
alarmed at every noise, and fancying he saw
a dagger in the hand of every one who ap-
proached him. The adage was also used to be
applied to persons, whose sole pleasure or satis-
faction centered in their wealth. Call me what
you will, such men would say, I please myself
with the knowledge that I am rich.
" Populus
-" Populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo
Ipse domi, simulac nummos contemplor in area."
Caput Artis esf, decere quod facias.
It is the perfection of art or of management
that every one should conform himself to his
circumstances and situation in life, that the
rich and <n-eat should not descend to the
O
manners of the poor, nor the poor emulate
those of the rich ; that the aged should not
mix in the sports and amusements of the
young, nor the young imitate the gravity of
those advanced in years.
Odit Cane pejus et Angue.
Hated worse than a mad dog, or a venemous
serpent. The man who is entirely engrossed
by a passion for accumulating riches, or ho-
nours, is a dupe to parasites, or to a mistress,
who will ruin him, and yet he will not suffer a
word to be said against the object of his pur-
suit, but would hate worse than a mad dog:,
' O»
or a poisonous serpent, whoever should attempt
to wean him from her.
Onmia
( 53 )
Omnia bonos Viros decent.
All things are becoming in good men. If a
man has acquired a character for uprightness
and justice, a favourable construction is put
upon every thing he says or does, On the
contrary, the best actions of bad men are
suspected ; as they are never imagined to pro-
ceed from the heart, some deep and villanous
design is supposed to be couched under them.
" A liar is not to be believed, even when he
speaks the truth*"
In Acre piscari, In Mare venari.
It is fishing in the air, or hunting in the
sea, may be said to persons attempting things
perfectly incompatible; as if those should ex-
pect to enjoy a perfectly retired and quiet life,
who are engaged in any public offices or busi-
ness; or happiness, while eagerly employed in
the pursuit of sensual pleasure; or content-
ment, while anxiously intent on increasing
their wealth which will be much more likely
to add to their cares than to their comfort.
VOL, II.
C 54 )
Negkctis urenda Filiv innasdiur Agris.
As fern and other hurtful weeds spring up
in ground that is not tilled, so do ill humours
abound in the bodies of the idle, and evil
thoughts take possession of their minds. Hence
we truly say, " L'ozio £ il padre di tutti i vizi,"
idleness is the root of all evil, "L'oisivete nous
mene a la mendicite," and leads to beggary.
Idle persons are necessarily restless and un-
happy. " They are never pleased, never well
in body or in mind, but weary still, sickly still,
vexed still, loathing still ; weeping, sighing,
grieving, suspecting, offended with the world,
-and with every object; and this is the reason,"
Burton says, "that so many wealthy and great
personages, become melancholy."
Reperit Deus Nocentem.
God has visited him for his sins. " It has
come home to him at last." The security he
so long enjoyed, proved a snare to him, and
led him to the commission of still greater
crimes, hoping for the same impunity; but
the
( 55 )
the merited punishment has at length over-
taken him. It intimates, that no offence,
though committed ever so privately, can es-
cape the knowledge of the Deity, or ultimately
his just vengeance.
Dem u Ice re Caput.
Patting and stroking the head, as we do of
dogs, and other animals, to put them in good
humour with us. Flattering with soft speeches.
" Praetermitto," St. Jerome says to his cor-
respondent, "salutationis officia, quibus meum
demulces caput," not to mention the kind
speeches and friendly reception I met with,
doubtless with the view of bribing my judg-
ment, and inducing me to favour your pro-
posal.
Catulce, Domlnas imitantes.
See the young whelps looking big, and at-
tempting to imitate their elders, was used to
be said of servants affecting the state and
grandeur of their masters. This is more par-
E 2 ticularly
<
ticularly seen in the conduct of the clerks in*
public offices, who often expect to be addressed
with more ceremony, and to have more atten-
tion paid to them than is required by their
superiors. " The insolence of office " is re-
corded by Shakespeare, as constituting no small
part of the miseries of this life.
Lingua bellare.
To war with the tongue, to spend the whole
of one's rage in coarse and rude language, in
threats which we havie neither the power, nor
inclination, perhaps, to carry into execution,
is the resort of weak and cowardly persons.
Much of this wordy war is practised at the
bar, particularly by those defending a bad
cause. " Qui aspidis venenum in lingua cir-
cumferunt," the poison of asps is under their
lips. Wounds made with the tongue are often
more hurtful than those made with the sword.
" La lengua del inal amigo, mas corta que el
cuchillo," the tongue of a false friend is sharper
than a knife, cuts deeper. " La lengua no ha
osso, e osso fa rompere," the tongue breaks
bones,
bones, though itself has none. " Mors et vita
in manibus linguae," it is often the arbiter of
life and death. An intemperate tongue is not
only injurious to others, but to its possessor,
it is therefore said, " Vincula da lingure vel tibi
vincula dabit," restrain your tongue, or it will
bring you into restraint. Hence there is no
precept more frequently or more strongly in-
culcated, than to set a guard over that mis-
chievous member. " He that keepeth his
mouth, keepeth his life, but he that openeth
wide his lips, shall have destruction," and
" the tongue of the wise is health." " En
boca cerrada no entra moscha," flies do not
enter into the mouth that is shut, or, no mis-
chief can ensue from being silent; and "an
ounce of honey will catch more flies than a
gallon of vinegar." William Paulet, Marquis
of Winchester, who filled high offices in th«
state, during the reigns of Henry the Eighth,
Edward the Sixth, and the Queens Mary and
Elizabeth, being asked by what means he had
preserved himself through so many changes,
said, " by being a willow, and not an oak."
f.3 Re-
( 58 )
Refutantis Laudem immodicam.
Checking immoderate commendation, or
praise. " Nullum ego sum nuinen, quid me
immortalibus eequas?" I am a mere human
being, with all the follies and failings incident
to them, why do ye then raise me to the rank
of the gods, may be said by any one, finding
himself treated with too much homage and
adulation.
Orel habet Galeam.
He has the helmet of Pluto, was used to be
said of persons, who by base and insidious
arts, incited others to acts of villany, without
themselves appearing to be concerned in them.
Those who wore the helmet of Pluto were said
to be invisible, but to see every thing about
them ; whence the adage. The ring of Gyges
was fabled to have a similar power of making
those who wore it invisible. Probably nothing
more is meant by these stories, than that rich
men have great privileges, few persons being
bold enough to scrutinize into their actions,
or
( 59 )
or to censure their errors. " Las necedades
del rico, por sentencias passan en el mundo,"
even the foolish sayings of the rich are es-
teemed as oracles.
Apil opus est.
There is need of parsley here, was used to be
said when any one was affected with a dis-
ease, for which there was no known remedy,
and which would soon extinguish his life; al-
luding to the custom of scattering parsley over
their graves, which was the ancient custom
among the Grecians. They were also used to
crown those who were conquerors in the Isth-
mian games, with this herb.
Prtestat habere acerbos inimicos, guam eos
Amlcos qui dulces videantur.
Better an open enemy, than a false and de-
ceitful friend, or than a friend who is too soft
and easy, and too readily assents to whatever
you propose, was frequently in the mouth of
Cato. An enemy, by being a spy upon our
actions, and by severely censuring our slightest
E 4 errors,
( 60 )
errors, may make us cautious, and even lead
us to reform any follies or vices we may have
accustomed ourselves to, or indulged ourselves
in. Philip of Macedon said the Athenian ora-
tors, who were incessant in their endeavours
to excite the Grecians against him, had by
the severity of their censures, conferred on
him a lasting obligation, for they had taught
him to look into and regulate his conduct in
such a manner, as would conduce materially
to the success of his enterprizes.
Sub Cultro liqult.
He is under the knife, in great danger or
extremity. Our phrase,, "he is under the
hatchet," is of similar import. The adage
was applied when any one who had fallen into
an ambush, into the sea, or into any other
peril, was left to wade through, or extricate
himself by his own strength or ingenuity.
The metaphor is taken from a victim standing
at the altar, ready to be sacrificed.
" fugit improbus et me sub cultro liquit,"
Instead
( 61 )
Instead of assisting, he fled, and left me to
struggle through my difficulties unaided. Oc-
casions offer too frequently of applying this
apothegm.
Date mihi Pelvim.
Bring me a bason, was used to be said, when
any one had so completely worn out the pa-
tience of his auditors, by the tediousness,
absurdity, or wickedness of his discourse, that
it could no longer be borne, and was meant
to express the utmost contempt for the relater.
" It made my gorge rise," or " I could have
spit in the fellow's face."
Quod alibi diminutum, exequatur alibi.
Though deficient in one quality, yet abun-
dantly endowed with others, equally valuable
and productive. He is indeed blind, but has
an exquisite ear to music. He is neither
strong, nor swift of foot, but is a good pen-
man and accountant. Of kin to it are,
" Non omnes possumus omnia," and
" Non omnis fert omnia tellus,"
No
( 6* )
No man should be expected to be intimately
acquainted with every art or science, nor any
land to produce every kind of fruit or grain*
When Philip of Macedon was contending
with the master of his choir, on some musical
subject, the musician, instead of answering
him, said, " God forbid that your majesty
.should be as well instructed in these matters,
as I am."
Usque ad Aras Amicus.
A friend even to the altar, that is, who will
do every thing that is not offensive to good
morals, or that will not oblige him to a breach
of his duty to God, to his family, or neigh-
bours. Such was the answer of Pericles to a
friend, who had required of him in a certain
cause to give a false testimony. He was not
unmindful of his obligation to his friend, but
he dared not violate his duty to the gods. It
•was the custom anciently for persons taking
an oath, to lay one of their hands on the altar,
whence the adage.
The following, from Beloe's translation of
Aulus
( 63 )
Aulus Gellius, places the character of Chilo,
the Lacedemonian, in so pleasing a light, that
I am induced to lay it before the reader. It
has also some reference to the adage before
us. When death was approaching, he thus
spake to his surrounding friends: "That there
is very little of all that I have said and done
in the course of a long life, which has given
me cause of repentance, ye may, perhaps, Avell
know. At this period, I certainly do not de-
lude myself when I say, that I have never
clone any thing, the remembrance of which
gives me uneasiness, one incident alone ex-
cepted. I was once a judge with two others,
on the life of a friend. The law was such as
to require his condemnation. Either, therefore,
a friend was to be lost by a capital punishment,
or the law was to be evaded. In this case, I
silently gave my own vote for his condemna-
tion, but I persuaded my fellow judges to
acquit him. Thus I neither violated the duty
of the friend, nor of the judge. But the fact
gives me this uneasiness; I fear that it was
both perfidious and criminal, to persuade others
to
to do that, which in my own judgment was
not right."
Athos celat Lett era Lemnice Bovis.
Athos covers with its shade the Lemnian
ox. The adage was used to be applied to any
one injuring the character, or obscuring the
fame of another. In the island of Lemnos,
there was formerly the statue of an Ox, of an
immense size. This, however, did not prevent
its being obscured by the shadow of Mount
Athos, which, though at a great distance, ex-
tended itself over a large portion of the island.
JExigit et a Statuis Farinas.
I warrant he will make something of it, he
would get meal even from a statue, nor is there
any thing so mean and worthless, but he will
reap some profit from it. But the adage was
more usually applied to princes, and governors,
exacting large tributes from poor, and almost
desolate places, or obliging the inhabitants of
their
( 65 )
their principal cities to pay such immense sums>
as to reduce the most wealthy and prosperous
of them, to beggary. Of both these, we have
now abundant instances in the conduct of
Buonaparte and his myrmidons. It was also
applied, Erasmus says, to covetous priests,
" apud quos ne sepulchrum quidem gratis con-
ceclitur," who extracted profit even from fune-
rals ; but these dues are now usually paid
readily enough, either out of respect to the
deceased, or from the consoling consideration
that it will be the last cost the survivor will
be put to on their account.
Quid ad Mercurium.
What has this to do with Mercury, was
said when any one through ignorance, or with
the view of distracting the attention of the
auditor, introduced any matter foreign to the
subject intended to be discussed. What has
this to do with the business before us. Mer-
cury seems to have been made use of, as he
was esteemed to be the god, or patron of
eloquence.
A puro
( 66 )
A puro pura defluit Aqua.
From a pure fountain, pure water may be
expected to issue, and from a just and up-
right man, none but kind and beneficent
actions.
Reperire Rimam.
He will find some chink, some aperture by
which he will escape, was said of crafty, subtle,
and cunning men, who, confine them ever so
carefully, would still find some method of get-
ting loose ; a Monkhausen. But the adage
is also applicable to persons who are ingenious
in finding a flaw in any engagement or agree-
ment, when it is no longer their interest to
abide by the terms of it ; to the lower mem-
bers of the law, who read a deed not so much
to find out what was the intention of the par-
ties, as to see whether it may not be made td
bear some other construction.
" To fiud out meanings never meant."
Or who, in penning a deed, contrive to insert
some word of doubtful, or equivocal sense,
that
( 67 )
that may vitiate some of the covenants, always
looking to the advantage of the craft.
Ungentem pungit, pungentem Rusticm
angit.
" Oignez vilain il vous poindra,
Poignez vilain il vous oindra."
If you treat a clown with mildness and ci-
vility he will fancy you are afraid of him, and
will return your kindness with rudeness or
insult ; but if preserving your dignity, you
treat him as your inferior or with some degree
of authority, he will crouch to and fawn upou
you :
" A base unthankful clownish brood,
Return ill offices for good,
But if you should them harshly treat,
Then spaniel-like they '11 lick your feet."
" El ruyn, mientras mas le ruegan, mas se
estiende," a low and base man, the more you
entreat him, the more insolent he becomes.
Cognatio movet Inmdiam.
Relationship excites envy. We rarely envy
the good fortune of those with whom we are
little
( 68 )
little acquainted ; it is those who are nearer
to us, in the same school, college, or regi*
ment; or with whom we are intimately related,
or associated in the same business, or who are
in the same rank in life with ourselves, whose
superior success disturbs us. For the success
of persons very much superior to us rarely
gives rise to this detestable and tormenting
passion, which undermines the health, and
when in excess occasions melancholy, and
even madness. " As a moth gnaws a gar-
ment," Saint Chrysostom says, " so doth envy
consume a man."
-" If she but tastes
The slenderest pittance of commended virtue.
She surfeits of it.''
In the same spirit Swift says,
" To all my foes, O Fortune send
Thy gifts, but never to a friend ;
I scarcely can endure the first,
But this with envy makes me burst."
Stultus semper- inclpit vivere.
The fool is always about to begin to live,
never
never determined or settled as to his course of
life ; like a weathercock, changing his plans
as often as the wind shifts, or taking the ad-
vice of every new acquaintance. It may be
useful to such men to hear what Martial says
on this procrastinating disposition as rendered
by Cowley :
" To-morrow you will live, you always cry ;
In what far country does this morrow lie,
That 'tis so mighty long e'er it arrive ?
Beyond the Indies does this morrow live ?
Tis so far fetched this morrow that I fear
'Twill be both very old and very dear.
To-morrow I will live, the fool doth say ;
To-day itself 's too late, the wise liv'd yesterday."
In C&lum jacularis.
Threatening those whom you cannot hurt,
but whose anger may be highly prejudicial to
yourself, is like hurling your dart against the
heavens, which it cannot reach, but it may
wound you in its return. " Chi piscia contra
il vento, si bagna la camiscia," and " Quien
al cielo escupe, en la cara le cae," who casts
VOL. ii. F his
( 70 )
his spittle against the heavens, will receive it
back on his face.
Ante hac putabam te habere Cormia.
I thought you had been furnished with
horns ; that is, by your blustering, I thought
you had the power, at the least, of defending
yourself; this was used to be said to persons
•who were found on experience to be miserably
defective in courage, or in any other quality
in which they were supposed to excel.
Ante Barbam doces Series.
Being young and inexperienced do you set
yourself up for a teacher ? this among the an-
cients would have been looked upon as a pre-
posterous attempt, and perhaps our manners
are not much mended by our departing from
their practice on this subject. " Odi pueru-
los prsecoci sapientia," I hate these forward
wits, or to see young men thrusting them-
selves into concerns that require rather
strength of heads than of hands. The most
early
( 71 )
early wits were supposed to be least lasting,
and never to attain to perfection ; " soon ripe
soon rotten," is a very old maxim. " Buey
viejo, sulco derecho," an old ox makes a
straight furrow ; and " diablo sabe mucho,
por que es viejo," the devil knows much, the
Spaniards say, because he is old*
Auro Loquente nlhil Collet qucevis Ratio.
Against money or a bribe, reason or elo-
quence are of little avail, an apothegm no
where more known or acknowledged than in
this country, where, according to a saying
imputed to Sir Robert Walpole, every man
has its price. " L' argento 6 un buon passe-
porto," money is a good passport, and " Quien
dinero tiene, haze lo que quiere," he who has
money has friends, fame, and whatever he
pleases : we are not therefore single in the
homage we pay to it, and " money," we say,
" is welcome every where." Ovid also long
since, addressing himself to it, said
" Quid non mortalia pectora cogis,
Auri sacra fames."
F 2 What
C 72 )
What atrocities will not the cursed thirst after
gold impel men to commit !
Durum et durum nonfaciunt Murum.
Two hard bodies will not coalesce to make
a rampart or wall ; there must be a soft sub-
stance placed between, to cement them. Two
proud, haughty, intemperate men will never
agree together, without the intervention of
a mild, quiet, rational, and peaceable dispo-
sition, to soften asperities and bring them into
contact.
Sublatd Lucernd, nihil interest inter
Mulieres.
"Joan is as good as my lady in the dark,"
and " De noche todos los gatos son pardos,"
in the dark all cats are grey. The following,
which is familiar to all my readers, says all
that is necessary on this subject :
" Whilst in the dark on thy soft hand I hung,
And heard the tempting syren in thy tongue j
What flames, what darts, what anguish I endured :
But when the candle entered. I was cured."
J\ fuller
Muller turn bene olet, ubi nihil okt.
A woman then smells most sweet, when she
has no scent ; which may be best illustrated
by the following lines from Ben Jonson :
" Still to be neat, still to be drest,
As you were going to a feast ;
Still to be powdered, still perfum'd,
Lady, it is to be presumed,
Though art's hid causes are not found,
All is not sweet, all is not sound," fyc. fyc.
The French proverb lays a further embargo
on the ladies; " la femme de bien n'a ni
yeux, ni oreilles," discreet women have nei-
ther eyes nor ears ; and the Spaniards would
takeaway their feet also, "la muger en casa, y
la pierna quebrada," the wife at home, and her
leg broken; so averse are they to their gadding
abroad : and in another of their sayings, they
only allow a female to go out three times, "En
la vida, la muger tres salidas ha de hazer," viz.
to be christened, to be married, and to be bu-
ried ; also on giving a girl, who loved going
abroad, to be married, " algodon cogio, qual
la halleres, tal te la doy," she has been gather-
F 3 ing
ing cotton, (been gadding,) you must take her
as you find her. What privileges the women
get by being married, may be learned by the
following, " Madre, que cosa es casar ? Hija,
hilar, parir, y llorar," mother, the daughter
says, what is it to be married ? it is, my child,
to spin, to bear children, and to weep.
" When the mother of the king of Spain was
on her road towards Madrid, she passed
through a little town famous for its manufac-
tory of gloves and stockings ; the magistrates
of the place thought they could not better
express their joy for the reception of their new
queen, than by presenting her with a sample
of those commodities for which their town
was remarkable. The major-domo who con-
ducted the princess, received the gloves very
graciously ; but when the stockings were pre-
sented, he flung them away with great indig-
nation, and severely reprimanded the magis-
trates for this egregious piece of indecency ;
Know, says he, that a Queen of Spain has no
legs. The poor young queen, who, at that
time, understood the language but imperfect-
ly, and had often been frightened by stories
of
( 75 )
of Spanisli jealousy, imagined that they were
to cut off her legs, upon which she fell a cry-
ing and begged them to send her back to
Germany, for that she never could endure the
operation ; and it was with some difficulty
they could appease her. Philip IV is said
never in his life to have laughed heartily, but
at the recital of this story.
Occasiofacit Furem.
" L' occasione fa il ladrone," and " Tocca-
sion fait le larron," " opportunity makes the
thief," we should therefore leave it as little as
possible in the power of those who are about
us, to rob us, that is, we should keep a watch-
ful eye over them ; " a quick landlord makes
a careful tenant," and an exact and severe
master, industrious and honest servants. " En
casa abierta el justo pecca," an open door, or
an open chest, may tempt even a good man to
do a dishonorable action ; " if we place butter
hy the fire it will melt," was the observation
of a Hindoo, who was asked his opinion of an
English country-dance, of which he had been
F 4 a spec^
( 76 )
a spectator ; not conceiving, as it should
seem, that ladies who suffered themselves to be
handled so freely, would resist further liber-
ties if they should be offered.
Procul a Jove, procul a Fulmine.
Far from Jove, far from the thunderbolt.
The countries at the greatest distance from the
court or capital of a kingdom, being out of
view, often escape much of the oppression,
which those nearer at hand are obliged to sub-
mit to.
Priusquam Theognis nasceretur.
Before Theognis was born, was used to be
said of any transaction that occurred so early
that its origin could not easily be traced.
Cicero, in discussing the question how far or
to what degree a man would be justified in
violating the laws of his country, in defend-
ing the life or reputation of his friend, says,
" we must not take up arms against our country
to
( 77 )
to serve our friend," " and who did not know
this," Lucilius observed, " before Theognis
was born," which thence came to be used as
a proverb. Theognis was an early poet of
Megara, whose moral sentences have been
quoted by some of the most considerable of
the Greek writers.
Lingua Amicus.
A friend in words ; any one who by his
conversation seems desirous of being esteemed
a friend, but whose kindness extends no fur-
ther ; who is free in promising, but very back-
ward in performing any friendly office, is the
kind of person intended to be censured by this
adage. " Pollicitis dives, quilibet esse potest,"
any man may be liberal in promises, they cost
nothing. " II se ruine a promettre, et s'acquitte
& ne rien tenir," he ruins himself by promising,
but saves himself by not performing, for "pro-
mettre et tenir sont deux," there is a great
difference between saying and doing, which is
also a Spanish axiom, " Del dicho al hecho,
ay gran trecho.'' " II nous a promis monts
et
( 78 )
ct merveilles," he promises mountains; "more
in a month," we say, " than he will perform in
a year."
Lingua non redarguta.
A tongue not to be silenced. " Qui ratio-
nibusconvicti, non cedunt tamen," who though
convicted, overcome by argument, still refuse
to yield. " Nunquam persuadebis, quamvis
persuaseris," although you have convicted me,
you shall not convince me. Determined, ob-
stinate incredulity.
Serpens ni edat Serpentem, Draco nonftt.
A serpent, unless he feeds on serpents, does
not become a dragon. It need hardly be
mentioned, that the dragon was fabled by the
ancients, as a ferocious and destructive beast,
and as the head of that class of animals. The
adage intimates that kings only become great
potentates by destroying neighbouring princes,
invading and conquering their territories, as
the vast strength of lions, tigers, and other
beasts
( 79 )
beasts of prey, is supported by the destruction
of animals of less bulk and power, and as men
rarely acquire enormous fortunes, but by in-
juring and oppressing other.
Qui vitat Molam, vitat Farinam.
" No mill, no meal," or, if the noise of the
mill offends you, you can have no meal. " Who
will not work, must not expect to eat," " Who
would have eggs, must bear the cackling of
the hen." If the ground be not tilled, it will
produce no grain, or the corn will be choked
with weeds. " Lutum nisi tundatur, non fit
urceus," unless the clay be well pounded and
wrought, it cannot be formed into vessels.
Nothing valuable is to be produced without
industry, "et quid tandem non efficiunt ma-
nus," and to labour and ingenuity, scarcely
any thing is impossible.
• "Thou would'st be great," Lady Macbeth says
to her husband,
" Art not without ambition ; but without
The illness should attend it: what thou would'st highly,
That would'st thou holily ; would'st not play false,
And yet would'st wrongly win."
This
( 80 )
This, though addressed, and suited particu-
larly to Macbeth, is applicable in its principle
to mankind in general. We all of us wish for,
and would abound in the conveniences of life,
but all have not that energy of mind, which is
necessary to set them at work to obtain them.
Hence we find in all barbarous, and semi ci-
vilised countries, the inhabitants are prone to
thieving, as a more compendious way of getting
what they desire, than by their labour. Cap-
tain Cook, lost his life by attempting to make
the people of the Sandwich islands esteem, and
punish robbery, as a crime ; and we see with
what difficulty the propensity is restrained in
this, and other countries of Europe, where we
are taught from our infancy, and it is made
a part of our religion, to refrain from stealing,
and where it is prohibited under the severest
penalties, in some cases, even to forfeiture of
life ; yet many daily hazard that punishment,
rather than exert themselves to procure what
they want by industry : so true it is, that
" Idleness is the root of all evil," as it is also,
that " Lazy folks take the most pains," the
robber procuring his booty with much greater
cliffi-
( 81 )
difficulty and hazard, than it costs the indus-
trious man to obtain what is of equal, or supe-
rior value. In India, we are told, there are
whole tribes, or communities of robbers, the
individuals of which do not shrink from the
imputation. The Mahrattas are a nation of
robbers, and on what other principle are car-
ried on nearly all the wars of Europe ?
Optimum Obsonium para Senectuti.
Make ample provision for old age. " Chi
in prima non pensa, in ultimo sospira," who
does not think before, sighs after, therefore,
" Make hay while the sun shines." " Lay up
against a rainy day," and " Take care to fea-
ther your nest while young," for "Non semper
crit asstas," it will not be always summer ;
and it is as disgraceful for young persons to
neglect the means of improving their fortunes,
as it is for the aged to be over solicitous about
increasing theirs. Diogenes being asked what
he considered as the most wretched state of
man, answered " an indigent old age." This
seems to have been said with too little con-
sideration. Poverty is generally and not un-
deservedly
( 82 )
deservedly esteemed an evil, and the averting
it affords the most powerful incentive to ac-
tion, but the pressure of it must be much less
felt in age, than in the vigour of life. Among
the ancients, indeed, age was itself esteemed
an evil, as it incapacitates from making those
excursions, and following those pleasures which
contribute so much to the felicity of the early
part of our lives. But if with the capacity for
enjoying, we lose the propensity or desire for
having them, it should rather be considered as
a blessing. By losing them we attain a state
of calm and quiet, rarely experienced by the
young, neither would it indeed be suitable to
them, the passions and desires being the gales
which put them in motion, and lead them
to signalize themselves. Without them they
would become torpid, and would do nothing
useful to themselves, nor to the public. Action
therefore is the element of the young, as quiet
and retirement is of the aged. If life has been
passed innocently, and the aged have not to
reproach themselves with having deserted their
duty, or with the commission of any crime for
which they ought to blush, the reflection on
their
their past conduct, and on such acts of bene-
ficence and kindness they may have performed,
or of any thing done by which the community
may eventually be benefited, will abundantly
compensate for what time has taken from them.
The aged will also have learned among other
things, if it should happen to be their lot, to
bear poverty with composure. If little should
now remain to them, their wants will also be
equally few. The plainest and simplest diet,
clothes, and apartments, may very well serve
them, and are, perhaps, the best suited to their
state. The old man, therefore, if his poverty
is not the effect of vice, or folly, will soon
accommodate himself to his situation. But if
he has been himself the author of his degrada-
tion, he will regret and pine, not so much at the
loss of that affluence which he no longer wants,
as at the vices or follies which occasioned the
loss of them. Old and infirm people should
continue to exert themselves in all matters
regarding their persons, as much, and as long
as they can, and they generally may do this,
nearly to the period of the extinction of their
lives, if they early and resolutely resist that
languor,
( 84 )
languor, which feebleness is apt to induce.
While they shew this species of independance,
they will retain the respect of those who are
about them. A total imbecility and incapacity
to perform the common offices of life, is the
most miserable state to which human nature
can be reduced.
llli Mors gratis incubat, qui notus nimis
omnibus, ignotus moritur sibi.
Death falls heavy upon him who, known to
others, is only unknown to himself. Though
self-love is an inherent principle in human
nature, yet how few are there that are solicit-
ous to become acquainted with themselves, or
who can bear to be alone ! Not but that the
student will, with great satisfaction, pass many
hours every day in his study, the merchant in
his closet ; but M'hen their respective labours
are finished, each of them have recourse to
company to amuse and divert their thoughts.
Though ^without living associates before, they
were still in company, but their books being
*lmt, they then find themselves alone; and if
they
( 85 }
they were not to change the scene, they might
be induced to look into themselves, to inquire
Jmto the state of their mind,
" That task which as we follow or despise,
The oldest is a fool, the youngest wise;
Which done, the poorest can no wants endure,
And which not done, the richest must be poor."
In this task, there are few who are inclined to
engage. This does not seem to arise from the
difficulty of the undertaking, but from an
unwillingness to enter on the study, lest it
should lead to self-condemnation, and they
should find it necessary to give up some fa-
vourite pursuit, or practice, which interest, or
pleasure, had made too agreeable to be parted
with. But those who are so averse to this in-
quiry should consider, "that as the tree falls,
so it lies.*' Cowley has well described the
exit of such an one in the following lines.
" To him alas, to him I fear,
The face of death will terrible appear,
Who in his life, flattering his senseless pride,
By being known to all the world beside,
Does Hot himself when he is dying know,
Nor what he is, nor whither he's to go."
t
VOL. n. e Though
o
( 86 )
Though this article is already far extended,
the reader will not be displeased at seeing a
passage from the golden verses of Pythagoras,
on the utility of self-examination, which is
enforced with peculiar energy. The verses,
which well deserve the name of " golden," are
supposed to contain the principal points of
morality, taught by the great philosopher
whose name they bear, and to have been
delivered down to posterity by one of his
disciples.
" Let not the stealing god of sleep surprise,
Nor creep in slumbers on the weary eyes,
Ere ev'ry action of the former day,
Strictly thou dost and righteously survey.
With reverence at thy own tribunal stand,,
And answer justly to thy own demand.
Where have 1 been? in what have I transgress'd?
What good or ill has this day's life express'd ?
Where have I failed in what J ought to do ?
Tn what to God, to man, or to myself I owe?
Inquire severe whate'er from first to last,
From morning's dawn till evening's gloom is past,.
If evil were thy deeds, repenting mourn,
And let thy soul with strong remorse- be torn.
If good, the good with peace of mind repay,
And to thy secret self with pleasure say,
Rejoice, my heart, for all went well to-day.
These.
( 87 )
These thoughts, and chiefly these, thy mind should move';
Employ thy study, and engage thy love.
These are the rules that will to virtue lead,
And teach thy feet her heavenly paths to tread."
Malum Consilium Consult ori pessimum.
Evil counsel is most pernicious to the giver
of it. The adage is applicable to persons \vho
find the mischief they intended for others,
fall upon themselves. " He hath graven and
digged a pit, and hath fallen into the midst
of it himself." Advice is of a sacred nature,
and should he given faithfully, and those who
prostitute it to evil purposes, are deserving of
the severest punishment. The following story
is related as having given rise to this apo-
thegm. The statue of Horatius Codes, who
had defended the passage of a bridge singly
against the whole Etrurian army, being struck
with lightning, the augurs were consulted as
to the expiation proper to be made to the
offended deities, for to that cause the Romans
attributed these and similar accidents; and
they advised, among other things, that the
e 2 statue
( 88 )
statue should be placed in a lower situation ;
meaning, perhaps, where it would be less liable
to a similar injury. But the advice being sup-
posed to be given through treachery, they
were accused, convicted, and put to death.
This was so agreeable to the superstitious
people, that for a long time after they sang
the verse which forms this adage, in triumph,
about the streets. The augurs are said to
have acknowledged their guilt, as many poor
old women, accused of witchcraft, have done
in this country. The story is more circum-
stantially related by Aulus Gellius. See Beloe's
translation of that entertaining work. Though
augury was held in high estimation by the
Greeks and Romans, scarcely any great action
being undertaken among them without having
recourse to it; and the common people in both
countries, as well as many eminent for their
rank, and for their literary attainments, placed
an entire confidence in it, yet there were not
wanting, at all times, persons who held it in
contempt. Cato, the censor, Cicero tells us,
expressed his astonishment, that the auspices
could keep their countenance when two of
them
( 89 )
them met. " Mirari se aiebat, quod non rideret
haruspex haruspicem cum videret." And
Homer makes Hector say to Polydamus, ad-
vising him not to attack the Grecian camp,
on account of some sinister omen.
" Ye vagrants of the sky ! your wings extend,
Or where the suns arise, or where descend ;
To right, to left, unheeded take your way"
" Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws,
And asks no omen but his country's cause.
When Cassius was advised by the augurs not
to fight with the Parthians until the moon
had passed the scorpion, he said, " he was not
afraid of the scorpion, but of the arrows of
the enemy." But some of the augurs were,
doubtless, dupes to their qwn art, and as cre-
dulous, and as foolish, as any modern old
witch.
Corycceus auscultate it.
A Corycsean has been listening. This was
said when any one found that a transaction to
which he thought no one was privy, had been
discovered. The Corycaeans, a band of rob-
G 3 bers
bers inhabiting a mountain of that name, con*
trived, in order that they might know where
to levy contributions with certainty, to mix
among the merchants and traders, and by lis-
tening to their discourse, learned what sort of
goods each of them carried with them, where
the}' were going, and at what time they meant
to set out on their journey ; when taking with
them as many associates as they thought ne-
qessary, they met, and robbed them.
Ammo cegrotanti Medicus est Oratio.
Kind words are a medicine to an afflicted
spirit. " A soft answer turneth away wrath."
" Cortesia de boca mucho valer, y poco costa,"
civility costs little, but has considerable influ-
ence in appeasing restless and unquiet minds.
"An ounce of honey," we say, "will catch
more flics than a gallon of vinegar."
" Sunt verba et voces quibus hunc lenire dolorem
Possis, et magnam morbi depellere partera."
" Know there are words, which fresh and fresh applied,
Will cure the arrantest puppy of his pride."
Pride, and other evil affections of the mind,
were
( 91 )
were by the Stoics considered as diseases, for
which there were no better remedies, than good
and sensible discourses.
Contra Torrente.m niti.
" Striving against the stream," which those
may be said to do who attempt to convince
obstinately perverse persons of the impropriety
of any thing they have once resolved to defend,
or of undertaking any project they have de-
termined to accomplish.
Radit usque ad Cittern.
He shaves close, " ad vivum resecat," " he
cuts to the quick." The phrase is applied to
persons too exact in taking what is their due.
"The avaricious man," as described by Theo-
phrastus, " though his tenants pay him their
rent duly every month, will teaze them for an
odd farthing that remained at their last
reckoning^ and is perpetually inculcating to
his wife never to lend any thing ; for an end
ef a candle, or an handful of suit or of oat-
» 4 meal
meal will amount to money at the year's end.
He makes the barber shave him to the quick,
that it may be the longer before he wants him
again." Shylock would abate nothing of the
penalty of his bond, though it should cost the
debtor his life, but says to those soliciting his
forbearance,
" My deeds upon my head : I crave the law,
The penalty and forfeiture of ray bond."
A late chief magistrate of London, on being
told by one of his workmen, an old and faith"
ful servant, what pleasure he had received in
seeing his master in his state coach, though
pleased with the homage the poor man had
paid him, yet nature so far prevailed, that he
mulcted him a quarter of a day for time lost
in going to see the procession.
Saxum volutum non obducitur Musco.
" Pietra che rotula non piglia muffa," and
" piedra movediza no la cubre moho," that is,
" a rolling stone is ever bare of moss," is used
to be said to persons who are frequently
changing
( 93 )
changing their situation or employment; such
persons being more likely to dissipate and
waste, than to improve and increase their
property. To the same purport is, " Planta
qu£e sjepe transfertur non coalescit," the tree
that is often moved does not thrive.
Anus Hircum olet.
" How like a goat she smells," said of libi-
dinous old women. The phrase, therefore,
taken originally from the Greeks, is neither
modern nor peculiar to this country; though
no where used, it may be presumed, but among
the common people.
JJctbet et Musca Splenam, and
Inest et Formica sua Bills.
" Even a fly has its sting," and " a worm if
trodden upon will turn," and make an» effort
to avenge the injury : we should therefore not
despise an enemy however weak and insignifi-
cant, or wantonly offend any one ; there be-
ing
ing few persons but who may, at some time,
have it in their power to do us an injury, or
who may not in some way be useful to us.
Socrates determined him to be the wisest man,
who gave the least offence.
Camelus desiderans Cornua etiam Aures
perdidit.
The camel, discontented at not having
horns, lost its ears likewise. The adage
teaches that we should be thankful for those
faculties and powers with which it has pleased
Providence to endow us, and not to ask for
properties inconsistent with our state, and
which would be rather injurious to us than
beneficial, as horns would be to the camel,
whose strength does not lie in his neck. The
fable seems to have taken its rise from the
camel's having shorter ears than most animals
of its size, and to its not being or reputed not
to be quick of hearing. Hence the ancients
feigned, that Jupiter, offended at their asking
for horns, had deprived them of their ears
also.
rc
Casnare me doce.
Teach me how to eat, give. me. information
on subjects with which you are acquainted,
and I shall readily listen to you, hut do not
pretend to instruct me in matters of which
you have no knowlege, was said by Bacchus
to Hercules, who was laying down rules for
the construction of tragedies and other poems:
Hercules being as famed for the voracious-
ness of his appetite, as for his great bodily
strength.
Ad pcenitendum properat cito qui judicat.
Who determines precipitately hastens to
repentance ; which cannot be better illus-
trated than by the following, from N. Howe's
translation of the golden verses of Pythago-
ras :
" Let wary thought each enterprise forerun,
And ponder on thy task before begun,
Lest folly should the wretched work deface
And mock thy fruitless labours with disgrace.
Fools huddle on and always are in haste,
Act without thought, and thoughtless words they waste.
But
( 96 )
But thou, in all thou dost, with early cares
Strive to prevent, at first, a fate like theirs ;
That sorrow in the end may never wait,
Nor sharp repentance make thee wise too late/*
In Re mala, Animo si bono utare, adjwoat.
It is good to keep up our spirits under mis-
fortunes and to use our endeavours to miti-
gate or remove them, or if that cannot be
done to bear them with patience, which will
of itself, in time, make them more tolerable
and easy; as is expressed in the following,
" Fortitur ferendo vincitur malum quod evi-
tare non potest," and by the English adage,
V what can't be cured, must be endured," or
" of a bad bargain we should make the best,"
" Of all those sorrows that attend mankind,
With patience bear the lot to thee assign'd ;
Nor think it chance, nor murmur at the load ;
For know, what man calls fortune, is from God."
Inimicus et invidus Vicinorum Oculus.
An enemy and an envious person is an
eye
( 97 }
eye over his neighbour, watching narrowly
into his conduct ; but if known to be so, he
may be highly useful to him by putting him
on his guard : knowing he is watched by one
who is disposed to put the worst construction
upon his actions, he will be so cautious, as to
give him as little opportunity as possible of
doing him an injury : he, therefore, may be
said also to afford an additional eye to his
neighbour ; which is the more direct meaning
of the adage.
Lucrum malurn (Equate Dlspendio.
Gain gotten by unfair means is no better
than a loss; "what is ill gotten rarely
thrives." Those who are in too much haste
to acquire riches, generally commit some error
in the process which defeats their purpose;
or, if they obtain what they sought for, they
have rarely the discretion to use it properly.
" Hasty climbers have sudden falls." The
wealth that is ill-gotten becomes a canker, and
corrodes and destroys what it is put in contact
with. " Una pecora rognosa, ne guasta cen-
to,"
( 98 )
to," " one bad sheep spoils the flock. " The
too eager pursuit of any thing, Feltham says,
"hinders the enjoyment; for it makes men
take indirect ways, which though they pros-
per sometimes, are hlessed never. Wealth
snatched up by unjust and injurious ways,
like a rotten sheep, will infect thy healthful
flock."
Scindere Glctcicm.
" Romper il giaccio," " to break the ice ;"'
any one beginning a discourse or business
which had been long expected, or commenc-
ing a conversation when a company has for
some time sat silent, is said to have broken the
ice.
In Flammam ne. Manum injicito.
Do not thrust your hand into the fire. Whv
V •/
should you embroil yourself in a contention
in which you have no concern ? why put
yourself into hot water; know you not, that
" Those who in quarrels interpose
Must often wipe a bloody nose?"
" DC
( 99 )
*' De los faydos guarte, no seras testigo ni
parte," keep clear from broils, either as witness
or party.
Testudineus Gradus.
A snail's pace, he moves slower than a snail,
or is fit to drive snails, are phrases applied to
persons who are extremely sluggish. " Vi-
cistis cochleam tarditate."
Sine Pennis volire haud facile est.
11 Non si puo volar senza ale," " he would
fain fly, hut he wants wings," is said of per-
sons attempting to do what is much beyond
their power or capacity ; who speak authori-
tatively, without having a right to command
or po\ver to enforce obedience. It may also
be said of any one in excuse for not having
done what was expected of him, but which
he had not the necessary means for accom-
plishing. "II ne faut pas voler avant que
d 'avoir des ailes."
Muria
Murls in Morem.
Living like the mouse, upon the property
of others. Plautus makes his parasite say,
"Quasi mures, semper edimus alienum cibum,"
like the mouse, we always feed upon what
others have provided. '
Obtrudere Palpum.
To deceive with soft speeches. " You must
not think," the sycophant says in Plautus,
" to cajole me with honied words, who am
used to deceive others with them." The word
palpum means a gentle stroke or patting with
the hand, which we use to horses and other
animals to put them into good humour.
Tanquam Suber.
He is like a cork, nothing will depress or
sink him, was used to be said of persons \vho
had passed through great trials, or escaped
from imminent danger without mischief. Of
such
( 101 )
such men we say, u like a cat he has nine
lives," or " throw him as you will he will be
sure to alight upon his feet," " give a man
luck and throw him into the sea."
In Saltu uno duos Apros capere.
" Matar dos paxeros con una piedra,"
" killing two birds with one stone;" I have for-
tunately met with more persons, whom I wish-
ed to see, or done more business in this excur-
sion, than I expected.
Duos insequens Lepores neutrum capit.
By greedily attempting to take two hares
together, they both of them escaped ; like the
dog who, catching at a second piece of meat
which he saw by reflection in the water, lost
that which he had in his mouth. " Quien
mucho abarca poco aprieta," " grasp all, lose
all."
VOL. it. H
( 102 )
Tua Res agitur Paries quum proximus ardet.
When your neighbour's house is on fire, it
is time to look to your own. When you hear
your neighbour traduced, and his character
blackened, you will defend him even from a
regard to yourself, as you may expect the
same liberty to be taken with yours, when you
shall be absent. Turn the mischances of others
to your own benefit ; that is, learn from the
failure and misfortunes of others, to attend to
your own concerns, that you may not suffer
the same disgrace.
Articular um Deliramen ta.
The dreams, or ravings of old women. "Old
wives tales." By such titles, idle and ridicu-
lous stories were used anciently, and still con-
tinue to be called.
Citius quam Asparagi coquuntur.
Quicker than boiling asparagus, was fre-
quently in the mouth of the Emperor Augustus,
when
( 103 )
when he wished any business to be executed
speedily, the asparagus requiring to be boiled
only a few minutes ; or " Aphya ad ignem," a
kind of salted fish, which in dressing it, re-
quired only to be shewn the fire.
BoniPastoris est fonder e Pecus, non deglubere.
The good shepherd shears, but does not flay
his sheep. The good master only exacts such
a portion of labour from his servants, as they
may perform without injuring themselves.
Tiberius Caesar used this proverb, of which
he is reputed to be the author, to restrain the
rapacity of his courtiers, advising him to levy
further imposts upon one of the provinces,
which had been previously largely taxed.
Alexander the Great, on a similar occasion, is
said to have given the following : " Olitorem
odi qui radicitus herbas excidat," he is a bad
gardener, who, instead of cropping, tears the
plants- up by the roots. The woman who
killed the hen, that brought her a golden egg
every day, in the hope of becoming more
H 3 speedily
( 104 )
speedily rich, falls under the censure of this
adage.
Lucri bonus est Odor ex Re qualibet.
The odour of gain is sweet, from whatever
source it may he produced. To the miser,
whatever is profitable, and to the voluptu-
ous, whatever contributes to their pleasure, is
deemed to be good, however impure the source
of it may happen to be. Vespasian, who, but
for his inordinate love of money, was one of
the best of the Roman emperors, made use of
this apothegm, in answer to his son, who had
reproved him for laying a tax on certain vessels
set in the streets, for the reception of urine, for
the use of the dyers.* Taking a piece of money
* That the vessels were placed for the benefit of the
dyers, seems proved by the following, taken from a note to
p. 1?5, of the second volume of Rabelais.
Parisiis quando purpura praparatur, tune artifices in-
vitant Germanicos militcs, et studiosos, qui libenter bibunt,
et eis pnebent largiter optimum vinum, ea conditione, ut
postea urinam reddant in illam lanam. Sic enim audivi &
studioso Parisiensi. Joan. Manlii Libellus Medicus.
from
( 105 )
from his pocket, which he had received from
that impost, and applying it to the nostrils of
his son, he demanded, " Ecquid ea pecunia
puteret," whether he perceived any ill savour
in it ? The same, however, might be asked of
money obtained by robbery, murder, or any
other unjustifiable means, and unfortunately
we too easily excuse ourselves.
" O cives, cives, quaerenda pecunia primum,
Virtus post nummos."
O citizens, let money be your first care.
" Unde habeas curat nemo; sed oportet ha-
bere," no one will inquire how you get your
wealth, but if you would be respected, you
must have it.
Bceta turn Hyeme, turn ^Estate bona.
The baeta is said to have been a kind of
garment, made of skins, long, and sufficiently
large to invest the whole body, equally cal-
culated therefore to guard against the cold in
winter, and the scorching rays of the sun in
summer. The adage was applied by the an-
H 3 cients
( 106 )
cients to any objects that might be made to
answer a variety of useful purposes : to lite-
rature, which is both useful and ornamental
to every age and station in life, and to philo-
sophy, which may enable us to bear prosperity
•without insolence, and adversity without de-
basement.
Salem lingere.
Making a poor and slender meal ; some
simple pulse made savoury with salt, being
the usual diet of the poor, and such as many
of the ancient philosophers were contented
with. Diogenes being invited to dine with a
wealthy nobleman, refused his offer, being
more pleased to lick salt at Athens, he said ;
that is, to make a frugal repast there, than to
feed on the richest dainties. " Leaving the
nobles, clad in purple, and their splendid
tables," Seneca says, " I partake of the frugal
board of Demetrius. When I hear this excel-
lent man discoursing from his couch of straw,
I perceive in him, not a preceptor only, but a
witness of the truth ; and I cannot doubt that
Pro-
( 107 )
Providence has endowed him with such virtues
and talents, that he might be an example, and
a monitor of the present age. " Demetrius
was banished from Rome, on account of the
freedom he used in reproving the vices of the
great.
Velut Umbra sequi.
Following any one as his shadow, as para-
sites do silly young men of fortune, being
constantly seen with them, until they have
disburdened them of their substance, and
then the shadow vanishes of course : or, as
envy does men of talents.
" Envy will merit as its shade pursue,
And like that serves to prove the substance true."
Quid Cceco cum Speculo.
What has a blind man to do with a looking-
glass, an illiterate man with books, or one
who knows not how rightly to use them, with
riches ?
H 4 Mor-
( 108 )
Mordere Labrum.
Biting the lips, was formerly, and is now,
noted as a sign of vexation or anger. "Co-
meclens labra prse iracundia," biting his lips
through rage.
Priusquam Gallus iterum cecmerit.
Before the second crowing of the cock.
Before the invention of dials, hour-glasses,
and clocks, the crowing of the cock was much
attended to, as announcing the dawn, at which
time servants were expected to rise and begin
their labours.
Magis gaudet quam qui Senectam exult.
Was said of any one shewing his joy by
uncommon expressions of hilarity. Literally,
he rejoices more than an old man, restored to
youth ; or, than a cripple, who has recovered
his health and the use of his limbs. It seems
ta have taken its origin, from observing, that
serpents,
( 109 )
serpents, after changing their skins, from be*
ing dull and torpid, become extremely active
and lively.
Imi Subsellii Viri. •
A term of reproach, or contempt. Men of
the lowest form or seat, where parasites, buf-
foons, and persons of inferior condition were
placed at the tables of the great, where they
Avere sometimes admitted, but so placed, and
treated, as to make them sensible, in how little
estimation they were held. Juvenal is very
severe, both on those inflicting, and those
submitting, to such indignities. The phrase
was also used to denote persons filling inferior
situations in public offices, or of little estima-
tion in literature.
Canes timidi vehement ius latrant.
" Barking dogs rarely bite," and " Brag is a
good dog, but hold-fast is a better." Cowards
are fond of noise and blustering, under which
they hope to hide their baseness ; but men of
couragre,
( no )
courage, having nothing that they wish to
conceal, are sedate and quiet, as the deepest
waters flow with the least noise. Churchill
has well depicted cowardice in the following
lines. ^
• " Caution before
With heedful steps the lanthorn bore,
Pointing at graves, while in the rear,
Trembling and talking loud went Fear."
Ultra Vires nihil aggrediendum.
We should be cautious of attempting what
we have not ability to accomplish. " A little
wariness, prevents great weariness." The adage
was used by Paris to Hector, advising him.
against a personal conflict with Achilles, and
it had been well if he had attended to the
admonition, as he lost his life in the contest.
It is not, however, on all occasions to be fol-
lowed, as without trial it is not always easy to
know how far our ability or power extends ;
and where a great object is proposed, it is not
to be neglected from an apprehension, inspired,
perhaps, by timidity of its failing. " In mag-
nis,
( "1 )
nis, et voluisse sat est," it is honourable even
to have attempted a great and noble act ; that
is, if the attempt has been persevered in with
becomingspirit,and the failure, if it should not
succeed, has not been owing to negligence.
We may oppose to this adage, "Nothing ven-
ture, nothing have."
Sua Munera mittit cum Hamo.
His gifts are armed with hooks, with which
he means to catch something of equal, or su-
perior value, as those do who make presents
to persons much their superiors in rank and
fortune. " C'est mettre un petit poisson, pour
en avoir un gros," it is baiting your hook with
a small fish, to catch a large one. The adage
may also be applied to persons who make a
parade of being very communicative, but are
only so to induce those they converse with,
to open their minds on subjects they wish to
be acquainted with, but which should not be
divulged to them.
" Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes,"
Laocoon said to his countrymen, finding them
too
( 112 )
too readily listening to a pretended deserter
from the camp of their enemy ; I am afraid
of the Grecians and will have none of their
gifts. Presents from persons whom we have
no reason to believe to be our friends, should
be received with great caution.
Timidus Plutus.
As fearful as Plutus, the reputed god of
riches. The poor having nothing to lose, have
no dread of thieves, and accustomed to feed
on coarse diet, they find little difficulty in
getting what is necessary for their support.
**' In utramque dormiant aurem, " they can
sleep on either ear, in any posture, or on the
hardest couch. The rich, on the contrary, are
full of care, trouble, and anxiety. " Non so-
lum cruciantur libidine augendi ea quae habent,
sed etiam timore amittendi ea," they are not
only tormented with an incessant desire of in-
creasing their wealth, but with the fear of
losing that which they possess. They believe
that all with whom they have any commerce,
are
( 113 )
are contriving to rob, or cheat them. They
are afraid of their friends, lest they should
want to borrow of them ; they think their
servants are false, and that their wives and
children are combining to deceive, and cozen
them. Their fears increasing with their years,
at length, though abounding with riches, they
are distressed with apprehensions of impending
poverty, imagining they shall become beggars^
or die in a workhouse. To avert this evil, they
deny themselves necessary sustenance. " la
Tiunc scopulum cadaverosi senes ut plurimum
impingunt," on this rock cadaverous old men,
men on the verge of the grave, are for the
most part wrecked, and indeed it is not until
they arrive at that period, when their wants
might be supplied by the smallest income, that
their fears make them imagine that their im-
mense possessions will be exhausted, before
their glass shall be completely run out, and
they perish miserably by the very means that,
properly used, would have preserved them in
health and spirits.
Mails Mala succedunt.
A succession of misfortunes, one following
another, as happens to some ill-starred per-
sons, who have no sooner learned to bear one
trouble, but another falls upon them. Hence
it has been said,
" Fortuna obesse nulli contenta est semel."
" Misfortune seldom comes single." The Spa-
niards therefore say, " Ben vengas si vengas
solo," you are welcome if you come alone.
Eodem Coltyrio mederi omnibus.
Using the same argument or discourse to
persons of different ages, dispositions, and
faculties, is as if a physician should apply the
same remedy in the cure of various and dis-
similar diseases.
Vita Mortalium brevis.
Life is short, and the duration of it also is
uncertain, and not, therefore, at any period of
it,
it, to be wasted in indolence, or in the in-
dulgence of our sensual appetites, but to be
employed in improving our faculties, and in,
performing the duties of our station; in short,
we should take care to pass the portion allotted
to us in such a manner, that at the end of it,
we may have as little as possible to reproach
ourselves with.
" To die is the first contract that was made
'Twixt mankind and the world, it is a debt
For which we were created, and indeed,
To die is man's nature, not his punishment."
Another poet says,
" This life's at longest but one day ;
He who in youth posts hence away,
Leaves us i' the morn. He who has run
His race till manhood, parts at noon ;
And who, at seventy odd, forsakes this light,
He may be said, to take his leave at night."
Spenser addresses the following apostrophe
to us.
" O why do wretched men so much desire,
To draw their days unto the utmost date,
And do not rather wish them soon expire,
Knowing the misery of their estate,
And
And thousand perils which them still await,
Tossing them like a boat amid the main,
That every hour they knock at deathes gate ?
And he that happy seems, and least in pain,
Yet is as nigh his end, as he that most doth plain."
Hippocrates, who was perhaps the author
of this apothegm, extends it further, "Vita
brevis," he says, " et ars longa," intimating
that the longest life is only sufficient to enable
us to acquire a moderate portion of knowledge
in any art or science ; and experience shews
the justice of his position, for even assisted
with the discoveries of our predecessors, neither
medicine, to which he alludes, nor any other
art has arrived at perfection.
Per Ignem incedis,
Or, as Horace gives it,
" Iiicedis per ignes
Snppositos cineri doloso."
You are treading on hot ashes. You are en-
gaged in a difficult 'and hazardous business.
"Take care," we say, "you do not burn your-
self," or, " burn your fingers." Johnson uses
the
the phrase, when entering on the lives of the
poets, who lived near his time, or were his
contemporaries ; meaning, that by speaking
freely of them, and giving his sentiments of
their works there was danger of offending their
friends or relatives. The adage may also mean,
as you are treading on hot ashes, that is, are
in jeopardy, get out of the business, conciliate
the parties whom you have offended, as soon
as you can, as you would run or hasten over
a floor that is burning ; the flame which is at
present smothered, may burst out and destroy
you. That this is also intimated, seems pro-
bable from the following.
Non incedis per Ignem.
You are not walking over a furnace, which
was used to be said to persons appearing to
be in great haste, but who had no urgent
business.
Ausculta, et perpcnde.
Listen and consider. Hear what is said to
you, and weigh it in your mind, before you
VOL. ir. i give
give your opinion. Or it may be said by a
person speaking, " Listen attentively to what
I am about to relate, you will find it deserv-
ing your serious consideration."
Non statim decernendum.
Be not in baste to give your opinion on any
proposition, though pressed to it ever so ear-
nestly. But be ready in all matters of moment
to say, I will consider of it, will advise with
my pillow. A wise man will neither give his
assent nor dissent in anv matter of conse-
w
quence, until he has sufficiently examined it,
and discovered its tendency.
Mortuus per Somnum, vacabis Curis.
Having dreamed you were dead, you will
now be free from care. Such was anciently a
current opinion among the Grecians, as it is
now in some parts of this country. The Spa-
niards sa}', more properly, " De los sueHos no
creas, ni malos, ni buenos," pay no credit to
dreams,
( 119 )
dreams, whether good or bad ; and the French,
11 Tous les songes sont mensonges," all dreams
are lies. Hence, perhaps, an opinion, that all
dreams are to be construed as meaning the
contrary, " After a dream of a wedding," we
say, " comes a corpse." But this is equally as
idle, as taking them literally.
Habet.
He hath it. He has obtained what he
wished for, or, he hath met with his deserts,
which last is always understood in an ill sense.
The expression is said to take its origin from
the exclamation of the spectators in the amphi-
theatre at Rome, who, when they saw a gladi-
ator wounded, were used to cry out "habet/'
A similar expression is used among us, and we
say, when a man in fighting receives a violent
blow, '' he has got enough," or, " he has got
his belly full." Simo used it, when speaking
of his son Pamphilus, to intimate he was taken
or caught by the fair Andiian.
1 2 Palpo
( 120 )
Palpo per cut ere.
To tickle any one fnto a good humour.
" To get on the blind side of any one," as we
do of a horse who happens to have one eye
defective, when we are about to bring any
thing near him which would make him
startle; also to flatter or cajole any one by
praising the qualities of a favourite horse or
dog, or any part of his family to whom we
observe him to be attached.
Suam quisque Homo Rem meminit.
Men are in general abundantly attentive to
their own interest; if, therefore, you wish them
to serve you with diligence, you must make it
their interest to do so :
" Hoc tibi sit argumentum, semper in promptu situm,
Ne quid expectes arnicos facere, quod per te queas."
Be this your rule through life, never leave to
others to perform any business for you, which
you can do yourself: consonant to this we
say, " help yourself and your friends will love
you."
you." The lark, that had made her nest in a
cornfield, was in no haste to quit her habita-
tion so long as she heard that the farmer de-
pended upon the assistance of his neighbours
and friends to get in his harvest, but when her
young ones told her that the master was com-
ing himself with his sons the next day ; now
it is time, she said, to be gone, for the business
will certainly be done. A Venetian noble-
man, we are told, called upon Cosmo de Me-
dicis, to inquire of him by what means he
might improve his fortune, and received from
him the following rules ; " Never to do that
by another which he could do himself; not
to defer until to-morrow what might be done
to-day; and not to neglect small concerns."
Qtice dolent ea molestum est contingere.
" You touched him in a tender part," and
brought to his memory some instance of vice
or folly he would gladly have forgotten. This,
however, is equally a breach of good manners,
as it would be of humanity to tread on the
i 3 foot
( 122 )
foot of a person afflicted with corns or the
gout, or to handle rudely any part that was
diseased or wounded : " No se ha de mentar
la soga, en casa del ahorcado," we should not
mention a halter in the, house of one whose
father was hanged.
To live voluptuously like the Greeks, to
be great topers. The phrase seems to have
been used by the Romans to express their
contempt of the soft and effeminate man-
ners of the Grecians, particularly of that
portion of them who had taken up their resi-
dence at Rome, and were probably the most
worthless of the country, who were not able to
get a living at home. These men, we are
told, had the art, by flattery and by admi-
nistering to the vices of the great, to make
themselves so acceptable that scarcely any
favour could be procured, or even any access
to the nobles could be obtained but through
them. Juvenal severely censures his country-
men for their attachment to these vermin :
"All
( 123 )
" All Greeks are actors, and in this vain town,
Walk a short road to riches and renown.
Smiles the great man ? they laugh with noisy roar ;
Weeps he? their eyes with bidden tears run o'er.
Asks he a fire in winter's usual cold?
The warmest rugs their shivering limbs enfold.
Pants he beneath the summer's common heat ?
Lo ! they are batb'd in sympathetic sweat.
In vain the Roman would contest the prize,
For native genius arms the Greek with lies ;
He, every moment of the night or day,
Mimics the great in all they look or say;
Loads their vain ear with praise that never tires,
And all their folly, all their trash admires."
Hodgson's Translation.
Johnson, in his imitation of the same satire,
has transferred the censure to the French,
who, he seems to think, had obtained the
same influence here, the Grecians had at
Rome :
" Obsequious, artful, voluble and gay,
On Britons' fond credulity they prey.
No gainful trade their industry can 'scape,
They sing, they dance, clean shoes, or cure a clap ;
AH sciences a fasting Monsieur knows,
And bid him go to hell, to hell he goes,"
i 4 Minuit
( 134 )
Minuit Prcesentia Famam.
Intimacy lessens fame. Authors, like kings,
will be most likely to excite a high opinion of
their capacities by being seldom seen, or only
by select persons ; too familiar an intercourse
with the world breaks the charm which the
fame of their works had perhaps raised ; they
are found to be mere mortals, and often with
a larger portion of folly than falls to the lot of
even ordinary men. " How it comes to pass,"
Montaigne says, " I know not, and yet it is
certainly so, there is as much vanity and
weakness of judgment in those who possess
the greatest abilities, who take upon them
learned callings and bookish employments,
as in any other sort of men whatever ; ei-
ther because more is expected and re-
quired from them, and that common defects
are inexcusable in them ; or truly because
the opinion they have of their own learning
makes them more bold to expose and lay
themselves too open, by which they lose and
betray themselves." " A prophet," we are
told,
( 125 )
told, " is not without honour save in his own
country," where he is intimately known, and
where he may be oppressed, and his fame in-
jured by the errors of his kindred as well as
by his own. " Is not this the son of the car-
penter Joseph?" was said of our Saviour, with
the view of lessening him in the estimation of
the people, when they could find nothing in
his character to which blame could be at-
tached.
Quod qiiis Culpa sua contraxit, majus Malum,
or, Bis inter imitur qui suis Armis per it.
The evil which has been occasioned by our
own error or misconduct presseth most se-
verely and is taken the most heavily; the
sting and remorse of the mind accusing itself
doubling the adversity : on the contrary, that
which is occasioned by the treachery or ma-
levolence of others has its alleviation ; partly
perhaps from the mind's being diverted from
contemplating it intensely by searching means
of avenging it, or simply pleasing itself
with
( 126 )
with the expectation, that it will not pass un-
punished. " Remorse," as Dr. Smith observes
in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, " is the
most painful sentiment that can embitter the
human bosom. Any ordinary pitch of forti-
tude may bear up tolerably well under those
calamities, in the procurement of which we
ourselves have had no hand ; but when our
own follies or crimes have made us miserable,
to bear up with manly firmness, and at the
same time to have a proper sense of our mis-
conduct, is a glorious effort of self-com-
mand."
" Of all the numerous ills that hurt our peace,
That press the soul, or wring the mind with anguish,
Beyond comparison the worst are those
That to our follies or our guilt \ve owe."
But the Stoics demand from us more intre-
pidity; they tell us, and with reason, methinks,
that we should not complain of, or sink under
those misfortunes which we have brought upon
ourselves; " Ferre ea molestissime homines non
debent, qua?, ipsorum culpa contracta sunt."
Cleecam
( 127 )
Clavam extorquere Herculi.
Would you attempt to wrest his club from
the hands of Hercules ? may be said to any one
undertaking what is much beyond his capacity
to perform. Such was anciently the reverence
paid to Homer, that to imitate his verses was
thought to be as difficult as to take by force his
club from Hercules, or the thunderbolt from
the hands of Jupiter. The adage may also be
applied to any one entering into a contest
with persons superior to him in fortune and
power. " You may as well take a bear by the
tooth." " He that meddleth with strife that
doth not belong to him, is like one that taketh
a mad dog by the ear."
Tacitus pasci si posset.
If he had eaten quietly what he had ob-
tained ; if he had not boasted of his good for-
tune, before he was completely in possession
of it, he might have enjoyed it unmolested;
but by proclaiming it he has stirred up rivals
for
( 128 )
for the situation, with whom he will find it
difficult to contend, and who may probably
supplant him. The idea is taken from the
fable of the stag who had escaped the hunters
and eluded their search by concealing himself
among the vines, but thinking himself safe,
he began to browse upon the leaves ; the hun-
ters, led to the place by the noise and by the
motion of the boughs, took and killed him.
Or from the crow, who, overcome by the flat-
tery of the fox, attempting to sing, let fall the
cheese that he held in his mouth, which the
fox seized upon and devoured. " Can't you fare
well," we say, " without crying roast meat ?"
Cedro digna Locutus.
A speech deserving to be embalmed, to be
preserved to the latest period of time. " To
be written in letters of gold."
" An erit qui velle recuset
Os populi meruisse ? et cedro digna locutus
Linquere."
" Who lives, we ask, insensible to praise,
Deserves, and yet neglects, the proffer'd bays ?
Who
( 129 )
Who is not pleased that from the bookworm's rage,
The juice of cedar shall preserve his page?"
The ancients were accustomed to varnish
the leaves of the papyrus, on which they had
committed any thing to writing, with an oil
extracted from the cedar, which had the facul-
ty of preserving them from becoming putrid,
as well as of driving away noxious or devour-
ing insects ; the oil of juniper was used, it is
said, for the same purpose and with equal ef-
fect. It is probable that Russia leather, used
in binding books, owes its power of killing or
driving away the bookworm, if it really has
that property, to some similar ingredient used
in its preparation.
Cura esse quod audis.
Endeavour to be what you are reputed to
be, or what you are solicitous to be esteemed.
We are all of us desirous that the world should
think well of us, let us labour then to deserve
their good opinion. Sycophants and flatte-
rers might be of use to us, if, when we hear
ourselves commended by them for qualities
which
( 130 )
which we are conscious we do not possess, we
should forthwith set about to acquire them.
Equi et PoetcE alendi non saginandi.
Poets and horses should be fed, not pam-
pered, was an apothegm of Charles the Ninth,
of France, said, perhaps, rather from the treat-
ment poets have in all ages met with, than
from his own opinion of their merit. Though
he said it, I think, to justify the smallness of
the present he had directed to be given to one
of them, who had addressed a copy of verses
to him. That poets are in a particular manner
neglected, can hardly be said with propriety,
as literary men of all descriptions almost, pass
equally unnoticed. This seems to arise from
the quiet, retired, and unobtrusive manner in
which they ordinarily pass their lives, so that
the world scarcely knows that they are in ex-
istence. I speak of the most valuable and
deserving of them, for there are, in each class,
some who are more than sufficiently forward,
and the little that is bestowed falls principally
among them.
Mel
( 131 )
Flet victus, Victor interiit.
The conquered lament their hard fate, and
the conqueror is undone : a no uncommon
consequence of war, in which, though the
conqueror may not be reduced to the low
state of his opponent, yet he usually finds his
country so weakened by the conte'st, so drained
of men and money, that it scarcely recovers it-
self in an age. The same often happens, on the
termination of a suit at law. The adage took
its rise from the result of the battle at Che-
ronasa, in which the Athenians and Thebans
were destroyed; and Philip, of Macedon, who
conquered them, was soon after assassinated,
by a young man of the name of Pausanias.
Sapientes portant Cornua i?i Pectore, Stulti in
Front e.
" Wise men wear their horns in their breasts,
in their pockets," we say, " fools on their fore-
heads." The Spaniards to the same purport
say, " Los locos tienen el corazon en la boca,
y los cuerdos la boca en el corazon,'' fools have
their
( 132 )
their hearts in their mouths, but wise men keep
their mouths in their hearts. Fools are the
first to proclaim their follies, or those of their
families, which men of sense are careful to
conceal. It is prudent to wink at some irre-
gularities in your children, and friends, to en-
deavour by private admonition, and reproof,
to correct and amend them ; and though these
should fail, you may still hope, that further
experience, and knowledge of the world, may
produce that change in their conduct, which
your labours had failed in procuring. By this
means you will often have the satisfaction of
saving a person, dear to you, from perdition.
Qui non litigat, Calebs est.
The man who has a quiet house, has no
wife. Certainly many of the Greek writers
appear to have had a great horror of matri-
mony, to which, perhaps, may be attributed
the high colon ring thev gave to the character
O v O
of Xantippe, who was not, it is probable, so
great a termagant as they have painted her.
Some of their apothegms follow.
" Mulier
( 133 )
" Mulier in aedibus atra tempestas viro."
A wife, like a tempest, is a perpetual distur-
bance to the house.
" Incendit omnem feminaj zelus domutn."
The restless spirit of the woman keeps the
house in a perpetual flame ; and
"Muliere nil est pejus, atque etiam bond."
Nothing is worse than a woman, even than
the best of them. " It is better," Solomon
says, " to dwell in the wilderness, than with a
contentious and angry woman ;" and in an-
other place, "It is better to dwell in the corner
of the house-top, than with a brawling woman,
and in a wide house." Montaigne has an ob-
servation equally satirical : " The concern,"
he says, " that some women shew at the ab-
sence of their husbands, does not arise from,
their desire of seeing and being with them,
but from their apprehension that they are en-
joying pleasures in which they do not partici-
pate, and which, from their being at a distance,
they have not the power of interrupting." A
similar idea pervades the following, by Bu-
channan, who in the early part of Montaigne's
life, was one of his preceptors.
VOL. ir. K *' Ilia
( 134 )
" Ilia mjhi semper praesenti, dura Neasra,
Me quoties absum, semper abesse dolet,
Non desiderio nostri, non moeret amore,
Sed se non nostri posse dolore frui."
Neasra, who treats me when present with the
greatest cruelty, yet never fails to lament my
absence; not from the affection she bears me,
but she grieves that sne cannot then enjoy
the pleasure of seeing me wretched ; which
may be better liked, perhaps, in the following:
" Neasra present, to my vows unkind,
When absent, still my absence seems to mourn ;
Not moved by love, but that my tortur'd mind,
With anguish unenjoyed by her, is torn."
To finish the bad side of the picture, one only
of our adages shall be given. " To see a
woman weeping," we say, " is as piteous a
sight, as to see a goose go barefoot." From
all which we learn, that as there are some tur-
bulent and ill-disposed women, so there have
not been wanting men, ill-natured enough to
make them the models, from which they chose
to characterize the sex. Hesiod more justly
and more reasonably says,
" Sors potior muliere proba, non obtigit unquarn
Ulla viro, contraque malA nil tetrius usquam est.
As
As the possession of a good woman, consti-
tutes the greatest felicity a man can enjoy, so
the being yoked to a bad one, is the greatest
torment that can be inflicted upon him. The
Spaniards, consonant to this, say, "De buenas
armas es armado, quien con buena muger es
casado," the man is well provided who is mar-
ried to a good woman. " He that hath no
wife," Cornelius Agrippa sayeth, "hath no
house, because he doth not fasten (live) in his
house; and if he have, he dwelleth therein as
a stranger in an inn ; he that hath no wife,
although he be exceeding rich, he hath almost
nothing that may be called his, because he
hath not to whom he may leave it, nor to
whom to trust, all that he hath is in danger
of spoyle; his servants rob him, his companions
beguile him, his neighbours despise him, his
friends regard him not, his kinsfolk seek his
undoing; if he hath any children out of ma-
trimonie, they turn him to shame, wherefore
the laws forbid him to leave them either the
name of their familie, the armes of their pre-
decessors, or their substance ; and he is also,
together with them, put back from all public
K 2 offices
offices and dignities by the consent of all
law makers : this finally is the only state of
life, wherein a man may lead the happiest life
of all, in loving his wife, in bringing up his
children, in governing his familie, in saving
his substance and in encreasing his offspring;
wherein if any charge and labour happen, and
no state of life is without its cross, verily this
only is that light burden and sweet yoke
M'hich is in wedlock."
Mendico ne Parentes quidem Amid sunt.
Poverty has, at times, the power of destroy-
ing even the affection of a parent to his off-
spring. " When poverty comes in at the door,
love flies out at the window." In extreme
poverty, the mind is too intensely employed
in procuring sustenance, to have leisure to
attend to the wants of others, even our nearest
relatives. When Mrs. Thrale reproved a poor
girl, who was sitting, while her mother was on
her legs, and employed ; Johnson excused
the girl, as not owing that attention to her
mother, from whom she only inherited misery
and
( 137 )
and want. But poverty is not without its
advantages. If the poor man has not the
conveniences, so neither has he the cares that
riches never fail to hring with them. His
wants are few, and the labour necessary to
supply them, preserves him in health, and
gives him that composed and quiet sleep,
which does not often attend the pillow of the
wealthy. The wise man therefore says, "give
me neither poverty nor riches."
" Would you be free ? 'tis your chief wish, you say;
Come on, I'll shew thee, friend, the certain way.
If to no feasts abroad thou lov'st to go,
Whilst bounteous God does bread at home bestow ;
If thou the goodness of thy clothes dost prize,
By thine own use, and not by others' eyes;
If (only safe from weather) thou jeanst dwell
In a small house, but a convenient shell ;
If thou, without a sigh, or golden wish,
Canst look upon the beechen bowl and dish ;
If in thy mind such power and greatness be,
The Persian king's a slave compared to thee."
Bellum inejcpertis.
War is approved by the young and incon-
siderate, by those who are unacquainted with
K 3 the
( 138 )
the dreadful waste of life as well as of pro-
perty that it occasions. " Expertus metuit,"
by men of knowledge and experience it is de-
precated. " Iniquissimam pacem justissimo
bello antefero," I prefer, says the sagacious
and humane Cicero, the most impolitic and
disadvantageous peace, to the justest war;
and yet with what precipitancy and on what
trifling occasions do countries often rush into
war with each another ! if sovereigns would
O
weigh the consequences, M'ould put against the
object contended for, the numerous lives that
must necessarily be sacrificed in the contest ;
the number of women who would be rendered
childless, or would lose their husbands on
whom they, and perhaps an infant family,
depended for their support, they would sure-
ly not think it too much to sacrifice a
small portion of their dignity to prevent such
accumulated evils ; these, however, are a small
part only of the miseries of war. They are, in-
deed, all that this country has for many ages
been exposed to experience. On the conti-
nent, when an hostile army enters a country,
what massacres, what destruction marks its
pro-
( 139 )
progress ! whole towns pillaged and destroyed,
and the miserable inhabitants put to the sword,
or the few that escape driven into the fields,
without shelter, without clothes, and without
food, only preserved for a short time to die a
more miserable death than those who perished
by the sword. With this kind of destruction
we have been long threatened, and who can
tell how soon it may fall upon us ! In this
state of things, how mortifying must it be,
to the grave and considerate part of the com-
munity, to see the time and energy of those
who have the care of the government of the
country, employed in rebutting the attacks of
noisy and contentious pseudo-patriots; who
appear to be moving heaven and earth to em-
barrass the proceeding of the ministers, solely,
it is to be feared, in the paltry expectation of
getting into their places : strange infatuation !
that men of the largest property in the state
should be most forward in occasioning its de-
struction : surely so monstrous a procedure
must portend some dreadful catastrophe !
" Quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat/'
God first deprives of their reason those who
K 4 are
( HO )
are doomed to be destroyed. " And God har-
dened Pharaoh's heart," we are told, " blinded
his judgment, that he would not let the.chil-
dren of Israel go ;" it being predetermined
that the ^Egyptians should suffer a severe
chastisement.
Mors omnibus commums.
We must all die, M'e should, therefore, fre-
quently meditate on this our common destiny,
which is equally incident to the young and
the old, the strong and the weak ; no age, no
state of health affording security against the
stroke of death. Whence is it then, that we
treat this common guest as a stranger, and
appear to be surprised when he has taken from
us any near relative or friend ? In this town
we have a regular yearly account of the num-
ber of deaths that occur within a certain dis-
tance ; this, besides the purpose of recording
the diseases which occasion the greatest de-
struction, for which it seems to have been ori-
ginally formed, should have the further use of
familiarizing us with death, and as it appears
that
( 141 )
that from 18 to 20,000 persons die yearly
.within the compass of a few miles, it ought
not to seem extraordinary that ourselves, or
any of our families should be of the number;
it should rather be expected. A friend, con-
doling with Anaxagoras, on the death of his
son, and expressing a more than ordinary
concern on the occasion, was told by that
philosopher, " Sciebam mortalem me genuisse
filium," " that he had never thought his son
to be immortal." And Xenophantes receiving
similar intelligence, hearing that his son died
fighting bravely for his country, said, " I did
not make it my request to the Gods that my
son might be immortal, or that he should be
long lived, for it is not manifest whether this
was convenient for him or no ; but that he
might have integrity in his principles and be
a lover of his country, and now I have my
desire !"
" The time of being here we style amiss,
We call it life, but truly labour 'tis."
These men, therefore, it may be presumed,
had well considered the subject. From the
aversion that many persons have of speaking
or
( 142 )
or thinking of death, it would seem as if they
thought that by such meditation they should
accelerate its approach ; but it would proba-
bly have the contrary effect, for as a large por*
tion of the diseases and deaths of such as live
to an adult age are occasioned by intempe-
rance, a serious contemplation of that circum-
stance might wean them from their irregula-
rities, and so prolong their lives; or if it did
not produce that effect, it might enable them
to meet death with firmness as a guest that was
daily expected :
" Fleres si scires unum tua tempora mensem,
Rides, cum non sit forsitan una dies."
You would weep if you knew you had only one
month to live, yet you pass your time in
gaiety and folly, though perhaps you may
not live a single day. It is not meant by
what is here said, that we should not have a
proper relish for life, or that we should be in-
different about its extinction ;
" For who to dumb forgetfulness a prey,
This pleasing anxious being e'er resigned,
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day,
Nor cast one longing lingering wish behind ?"
But
( 143 )
But as we know we must die, we should be at
all times ready to meet our fate when the hour
approaches.
Inter Pueros Senev.
Among children or young persons he may
be looked upon as old or intelligent, but
among elderly people he is considered as
young. This was used to be said of persons
of specious or imposing manners, who wished
to appear more learned or wise than on trial
they were found to be. " A doctor among
fools, and a fool among doctors," is, I think,
the phrase by which we designate such cha-
racters.
Ne Jupiter quidem omnibus placet.
It is of importance that we should well con-
sider every project that we may engage in,
that there be a reasonable probability of its
succeeding and that it receive the sanction
of such prudent and sensible friends as we may
think it right to consult; but no measure
however
( 144 )
however well planned should be expected to
meet with general approbation ; Jupiter him-
self not being able to please every one.
Felix Corinthus, at ego sim Teneates.
The Corinthian may, indeed, boast of the
splendour of his city, but the soft and rustic
beauties of Tenia please and satisfy me; may
be said by any one, on hearing the praise of
rank and large possessions too much insisted
on, if he has sense enough to be contented and
to see the advantages of a middling station.
Tenea was a village in the neighbourhood
of Corinth, remarkable for its mild and salu-
brious atmosphere, and for the beauty of its
scenery.
Mala ultro adsunt.
Misfortunes come fast enough, we need not
seek them, which those do who enter into
contests in which they have no concern ; or
who " meet troubles half way," and begin
lamenting before they arrive, the difficulty Js
to
( 145 )
to get rid of them when present "Mischiefs
come by the pound, and go away by the
ounce," which seems a very indifferent imita-
tion of " Les maladies viennent a cheval, re-
tournent a pied," diseases make their attack
on horseback, but retire on foot.
De te Kxemplum capit.
What wonder, since he only follows your
example, may be said to parents reproving
their children for irregularities, or faults, of
which they are themselves guilty.
" If gaming does an aged sire entice,
Then my young master swiftly learns the vice,
And shakes in hanging sleeves the little box and dice.
In sola Sparta expedit senescere.
*
Sparta is the most convenient residence for
aged persons ; age being in a peculiar manner
respected and honoured in that country. The
following story from Valerius Maximus, will
illustrate this position. It is here given from
the sixth Number of the Spectator.
"It
" It happened at Athens, during the repre-
sentation of a play, that an old gentleman
came too late for a place, suitable to his age
and quality. Many of the young men, who
observed the confusion he was in, made signs
to him, that they would accommodate him, if
he came where they sat. The good man
bustled through the crowd accordingly, but
when he came to the seat to which he was in-
vited, the jest was to sit close and expose him,
as he stood, out of countenance, to the audi-
ence. The frolic went round the Athenian
benches ; when the good man skulked towards
the boxes appointed for the Lacedemonians,
that honest people rose up to a man, and with
the greatest respect received him among them.
The Athenians being suddenly touched with
a sense of the Spartan virtue, and their own
degeneracy, gave a thunder of applause; and
the old man cried out, " The Athenians un-
derstand what is right, but the Lacedemo-
nians practise it." So the poet,
" Credebant hoc grande nefas et morte piaudum,
Si juvenis vetulo non assurrexerit," &c.
Divitis
( 147 )
Divitis Seroi mcurimk Servi.
Servants to rich and powerful persons are
the most abject of all servants. On account
of the great distance there is between them
and those they serve, they lose all estimation,
" as the shrubs and underwood, that grow
near or under great trees, are observed to be
the most scrubby and feeble of any in the
field, the trees engrossing to themselves all
the nourishment." " Sirve a senor y sabras
que es dolor," serve a great man, and you will
know what sorrow is. " Cabe Senor, ni cabe
igreja no pongas teja," do not lay a tile, that
is, do not build a house near a lord, nor near
a church, lest they pick a quarrel with you,
and dispossess you of your property.
Malum Vas nonfrangitur.
The worthless vessel escapes being broken
more frequently than one of more value.
" Naught," we say, " though often in danger,
is seldom hurt," and " ill weeds grow apace."
The opinion that the virtuous and discreet are
more
( 148 )
more subject to accident and misfortune, than
the vicious, is too general not to be founded
on observation. The good man, conscious of
not having done, or intended injury to any
one, is not easily led to apprehend mischief
from others, or to use precautions against the
shafts of malice, which he cannot suppose to
be levelled at him ; but the vicious man,
knowing he has deserved, is constantly on his
guard against the enmity of those whom he
has injured or provoked. This habit of watch-
fulness and attention to his safety, occasions
him not only to escape the injuries which
persons less wary meet with, but to obtain a
larger portion of the goods of the world, than
fall to the lot of persons more deserving, but
who are less active and vigilant in using the
means necessary for acquiring them. Or the
adage may be explained in this way : we set
snares for the Canarybird, the Groldfinch, and
other birds of song, and having taken them,
we confine them in cages ; but the Sparrow,
the Swallow, and many others, that neither
contribute to our amusement, nor are used at
our tables, are suffered to enjoy their liberty.
Malum
( 149 )
Malum Munus.
An unseasonable, or improper gift, tending
to the injury, not to the profit of the receiver:
as a large sum of money to voung persons,
which they, not knowing how to use properly,
often apply in such ways, as to become de-
structive to their health, their morals, and
their fortunes ; authority, to ignorant and in-
experienced, or to base and worthless men,
who will use it to the injury of those whom
they ought to favour and protect ; or prefer-
ment in the church, to ignorant and illiterate
divines, who, like the ape, only become the
more disgraced, the higher they rise.
Vox et prceterea nihil.
Plutarch in his apothegms tells us, that a
nightingale being, among other things, set
before a Lacedemonian for his dinner, when
he was about to eat it, observing how very
slender the body of the bird was, and com-
paring it with the strength and beauty of hij>
VOL, ii. i. song,
song, he exclaimed, " Vox es et praterea
nihil," you are all voice; the expression hence
became proverbial, and is applied to persons
\vho abound in words, but have little sense,
" Q.ui dant sine mente sonum/' Cicero there-
fore says, " Malo indisertam prudentiam quam
loquacem stultitiam,"give me rather a prudent
man, who, though unlearned, is silent, than a
loquacious blockhead. For as the poet ob-
serves,
" Words are like leaves, and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath, is rarely found."
Qui nescit dissimulare, nescit regnare.
" Chi non sa fingere, non sa vivere," who
knows not how to dissemble, knows not how
to reign, or to live, the Italians say. This was
frequently, it is said, in the mouth of King
James the First, but it did not say much in
favour of his sagacity ; and by proclaiming it
as a principle, it must have defeated his pur-
pose in adopting it; as it must have made
him distrusted, even when he meant what he
professed, " a liar not being to be believed,
even
even when he speaks the truth." Lord Veru-
lam says, " Dissimulation is but a faint kind
of policy or wisdom, for it asketh a strong wit,
and a strong heart, to know when to tell truth,
and to do it. Therefore it is the weaker sort
of politics that are the great dissemblers."
Pingere sub Gladio.
To paint with a sword hanging over one's
head ; metaphorically, to perform any business
requiring thought and reflection in the midst
of difficulty and danger, or in the hurricane
and disquiet of a scolding wife, and noisy
children. Protogenes is said to have painted
one of the finest of his pictures, while the city
in which he dwelt was besieged, and in daily
expectation to be taken by storm ; a rare in-
stance of coolness and presence of mind, and
which is said to have given rise to the adage.
Tuts te pin gam Coloribus.
I will paint you in your proper colours,
that is, I will describe you as you are, that
L 2 your
your friends may see with what sort of man
they have to do : with us, the expression is
always used in a bad sense.
Nil act um reputans, si quid superesset
agendum.
Esteeming what is done as nothing, while
any thing remains to be performed. It is a
.mark of a strong and vigorous mind, not to
tire in the pursuit of an object we have deter-
mined to attain, as it is of imbecility to give
up the chace, deterred by obstacles, whicli
perseverance might enable us to surmount.
Should the obstacles opposing the completion
of our design, prove to be insurmountable, if
they are such as could not be foreseen or
known, but from experience, the failure will
reflect no disgrace, and it is better " magnis
excidere ausis," to fail in attempting what was
great and noble, than by a too timid, and
cautious conduct, to continue in indigence
and obscurity.
Nthil
( 153 )
Nihil de Vitdlo.
But where is the yolk, was used to be said
to persons reserving to themselves the best
part of any viands, or other things, of which
they had the distribution. A man dreamed
he had found an egg. A soothsayer who was
consulted to interpret the dream, told him
that it portended he should find a treasure,
the white of the egg representing silver, the
yolk gold. The event corresponding with the
prediction, the man took to the seer, some of
the pieces of silver ; but what, said the seer,
is become of the yolk ? which thence became
proverbial.
Astutior Coccyce.
More crafty than the cuckoo. The cuckoo
is never at the pains of building a nest, but
having found one belonging to some other
bird, fit for her purpose, she throws out the
eggs she finds in it, and deposits her own in
their place. The owner of the nest, not per-
ceiving the fraud, hatches the cuckoo's egg,
L 3
and nurtures the young one, thus freeing
its mother from all care for her offspring.
The cuckoo is a bird of passage ; it appears
in this country in the month of April, and
leaves it in June. The female lays only a
single egg, usually in the nest of the hedge-
sparrow, as we learn from the following distich.
" The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long,
That she had her head bit off by her young."
Corinthiari.
To live a debauched and voluptuous life,
like the Corinthians. Corinth of old, like
Venice in modern times, was famed for enter-
taining multitudes of courtezans, and for the
great homage that was paid to them. They
served as decoys to attract to the city, the
most wealthy of the inhabitants from all parts
of Greece, to the great emolument of the ar-
tizans and traders, and improvement of the
revenue of the state. Lais, one of the cour-
tezans, was esteemed to be the most beautiful
and accomplished woman of the age in which
she lived. She drew visitors from the most
distant
( 155 )
distant countries, to whom she sold her fa-
vours at a very high price. Of Demosthenes,
who wished to pass an evening with her, she
required ten thousand drachmas. Astonished
at the boldness and largeness of the demand,
he quitted her, " not choosing," he said, "to
buy repentance at so dear a rate."
Leporis Vltam vivit.
He lives a hare's life. He is full of care and
anxiety, like a hare, said to be the most timid
of all animals, which is perpetually on the
watch, and even in its sleep is said not to
shut its eyes, lest it should be surprised and
taken by the dogs. The hares, tired of living
in a state of constant fear and anxiety, were
determined to put an end to their existence,
by drowning themselves. With this resolution,
they rushed clown to a pool of water. Some
frogs, who were near the pool, alarmed at the
noise, leaped into the water, to avoid, the
danger which they supposed threatened them ;
this being noticed by some of the most for-
ward of the hares, they stopped, and observing
L4 to
( 156 )
to their brethren, that their condition was not
worse than that of the frogs, they desisted
from their intention. This is one of the apo-
logues of JEsop, and \vas meant to cure men,
labouring under misfortunes, from thinking
that they are more unhappy than the rest of
mankind ; there being few so miserable, but
they may find others equally, or more wretched
than themselves.
Dolium volvitur.
A cask, when empty, may be rolled or moved
from its place, by a slight impulse, but when
filled, it is not to be moved but by the exertion
of considerable force. The weak and unin-
formed man, like an empty vessel, may be
turned from his purpose, by the most trifling
and insignificant arguments, or rather, having
no fixed principle of action, he is perpetually
wavering, and changing his designs. But the
considerate and wise man, having, on mature
reflection, formed a plan for his conduct, like
the well filled cask, he is not easily to be moved
or deterred from pursuing his object.
"Though
( 157 )
" Though the whole frame of nature round him break,
He unconcerned will hear the mighty crack."
The adage is said to have taken its rise from a
story told of Diogenes, the cynic. When the
city of Abdera, in which he lived, was threat-
ened with a siege, seeing the citizens running
about confusedly, without order, or fixing on
any plan for defending the place, he took the
tub in which he lived into the market, and
rolled it about with great vehemence, intimat-
ing that until they quieted the tumult and
confusion that reigned in the city, they were
equally insignificantly and unprofitably em-
ployed.
Ne priiis Antidotum quam Venenum.
Why take the antidote before you have
swallowed the poison ; why so solicitous to
purge yourself from the imputation of a crime,
before you are accused, or why censure the
doctrines of a book before you have read and
considered it ?
Joe-
Jactantlus mcerent qui minus dole.nt.
They weep most who are least concerned.
They grieve most ostentatiously for their
friends when dead, who regarded them least
when living. " Curas leves loquuntur, in-
gentes stupent," light griefs are noisy and
loquacious, or vent themselves in tears; those
that are more deeply felt, overwhelm and stu-
pify : and " Hasredis fletus sub persona risus
est," the weeping heir laughs under his mask.
The tears of those who are greatly benefited
by the death of the person whose loss they
seem to lament, may be suspected of hypo-
crisy ; weeping only to conceal their joy. " In
our age," Montaigne says, " women commonly
reserve the manifestation of their good of-
fices and their vehement affection towards
their husbands until they have lost them ; a
too slow testimony, and that comes too late :
we should willingly give them leave to laugh
after we are dead, provided they would smile
upon us whilst we are alive. Is it not enough
to make a man revive in spight, thaj she who
spit
( 159 )
spit in my face whilst I was living with her,
shall come to kiss my feet when I am no
more r
Rore vwit more Cicadce.
He feeds, only on the dew, as the grasshop-
per does, " like the cameleon he feeds on air,"
was used to be said, jestingly, of persons inor-
dinately fat and florid, particularly if they pre-
tended to be very delicate in their food, and
to have but slender appetites, as the monks
were accustomed to do.
" Qui Curios simulant, et Bacchanalia vivunt.
" You may read it," Rabelais says, "in their
red snouts and gulching bellies as big as a
tun."
Gallus in suo Sterquilinio plurimum valet.
" Cada gallo canta en su muladar," " every
cock will crow on his own dunghill." Every
man finds himself courageous in his own
house where he is surrounded by his family
and
( 160 )
and friends, who will not suffer him to be op-
pressed. " As iron sharpeneth iron, so doth
the countenance of a friend his neighbour."
Prcestat invidiosum esse quam miserabilem.
" II vaut mieux faire envie que pitie*," it is
better to be envied than pitied ;" for envy is
the attendant on good fortune, as pity is of
distress and misery.
" Envy will merit as its shade pursue.
Like that it serves to show the substance true."
Quod non Opus cst Asse carum est.
What you have no use for is dear at the
price of a farthing. " Buy what thou hast
no need of, and ere long thou shalt sell thy
necessaries."
Nunc twin Ferrum in Igni est.
Your iron is in the fire, \rork it now that
it is soft, and you may give it what fashion
you
( 161 )
you please ; but if you suffeT it to become
cold, it will no longer yield to the hammer.
Having begun the business, it must be dili-
gently attended to or it will not succeed.
" Bisogna battere ii ferro mentre e caldo,"
"strike while the iron is hot;" " make hay
while the sun shines."
Qualis Hera, tails Pedisequce.
Such as is the mistress such will be the ser-
vants. " Like master like man," " Qual la
madre tal la hija," like mother, like daughter ;
" Qual el cuervo tal su hue* vo," as is the crow
so is the egg. It is therefore becoming those
who have the management of the family to set
good examples. " Madre piedosa cria hija
merdosa," an indulgent mother makes a sloth-
ful and sluttish daughter.
Etiamsi Cato dicat.
In Rome, if a very improbable tale was told,
it was usual to say, " I would not believe it,
even though Cato himself should tell it me,"
thus shewing the reverence paid to the me-
mory
( 162 )
mory of that great statesman and philosopher.
The Athenians, who had the same confidence
in the integrity of Aristides as the Romans
had in Cato, used his name on such occasions.
We more commonly say, " though an angel
should affirm it we would not believe it."
Destitutus Ventis, Remos adhibe.
When it is calm you must use your oars.
If one project prove unsuccessful you must
not despair, but have recourse to other means
which may prove more productive. " Post
malam segetem serendum est," though the
harvest has failed this year, you must conti-
nue your exertions in the hope you may speed
better the next ; " worse luck now, better
another time :" though the Spaniards say,
" Contra fortuna, no vale arte ninguna," there
is no use in striving against ill fortune.
Pariter Remum ducere.
As you have entered into the same vessel
you
you must row together, as the boat will not
go on smoothly and regularly unless you move
your oars in concert : so neither must you
expect any business in which you are engaged
to succeed, unless all the parties concerned
are agreed as to the manner of proceeding,
and will act together.
Ut Lupus Ovem amat.
He loves him as the wolf loves the sheep;
or, " as the devil loves holy water." This may
be said of any one pretending a regard for
the interest of a person whom he is endea-
vouring to undermine and would destroy.
Vlam qui nescit ad Mare, eum oportet Amnem
qucerere.
Let him who knows not the way to the sea
take a river for his guide; that is, let him fol-
low the course of a river, which, though per-
haps by a circuitous route, will at length lead
him there ; the sea being the common recep-
tacle
( 164 )
tacle or reservoir into which nearly all rivers
pour their contents. Or let those who wish
for information on any subject on which they
are ignorant inquire of those who are ac-
quainted with them, however humble their
situation : much useful knowledge being often
to be obtained by conversing with the very
lowest of the people ; as in mechanics, hus-
bandry, gardening, Sec.
Presens abest.
Though present he is absent. This was said
of persons who, engaged in thought, paid lit-
tle or no attention to what was said or done
in their company, which led them often into
great absurdities. M. Bruyere in his Carac-
teres, ou Moeurs de ce Siecle, has given an ex-
cellent description of an absent man, but too
much in detail, though perhaps there may be
but few of the instances he produces, which
may not have occurred. It is admirably
abridged in one of the papers of the Spec-
tator.
J\fagis-
( 165 )
Magistratum gerens, audi et justt et injustl.
Being in office, it is your duty to hear all
that can be said on the business before you by
either party, before you decide on its merit.
" Qui statuit aliquid, parte inaudita altera,
JEquum licet statuerit, haud aequus est."
He who determines a cause without hearing
both the parties, though he passes a just sen-
tence, acts unjustly.
Avarus nisi quum moritur nil rectb facif.
The covetous man begins to be considered
with complacence when he ceases to exist, or
never does well until he dies; they are like
swine, e< which are never good until they come
to the knife." The prodigal who dissipates
his fortune by living voluptuously, easily con-
ciliates to himself the friendship or kindness
of the persons with whom he associates ; he
contributes to the support of those who fur-
nish him with the means of enjoying his di-
versions and amusements ; he shares his for-
VOL. ii. M tune
( 166 )
tune with his friends, his servants, and his de-
pendants : he is therefore usually spoken of
with complacency. " He is a generous, liheral,
open-hearted fellow, and no one's enemy but
his own ;" and when his fall is completed,
even those who suffer mingle some regret for
his misfortune, with the concern they feel for
their own loss. But the covetous man neither
meets with, nor is entitled to the same consi-
deration from the world : even the most
harmless of them, those who either came to
their fortune by inheritance, or who have ac-
quired it by fair dealing, as they use it exclu-
sively for their own benefit, are hardly looked
on as forming a part of the community in
which they live ; no one interests himself in
their welfare ; their success is not congratu-
lated, nor their losses commiserated. " The
prodigal robs his heir, the miser himself."
" When all other sins are old in us, and go upon crutches.
Covetousness does but then lay in her cradle.
Lechery loves to dwell in the fairest lodgings,
And covetousness in the oldest buildings."
Par
( 167 )
Par Pari referre.
" Like for like," or " one good turn deserves
another;" we say also, " give him a Rowland
for his Oliver." Dionysius, having engaged a
musician to entertain his company, to induce
him to exert himself he promised to give him
a reward proportioned to the amusement he
should afford his guests ; the singer, in the
hope of obtaining a splendid present, selected
some of his choicest pieces of music, which
he performed with such excellent skill as to
give entire satisfaction to the audience : on
applying for his pay, he was told he had al-
ready received " par pari," like for like. The
pleasure he had enjoyed in expecting the re-
ward, balancing that which the company had
received in hearing him sing; he had also the
further satisfaction of hearing his performance
highly extolled, which is too often the only
emolument that men of genius are able to ob-
tain for their labours.
it 2 Volam
( 168 )
Volam Pedis ostendere.
" To shew a light pair of heels." The phrase
is applied as a reproach to persons leaving
their posts and flying from the enemy instead
of fighting.
JBona Nemini Hora est, quin allcui sit mala.
" One* man's meat is another man's poi-
son." One man's loss is another's gain,
or one man makes a fortune by the ruin of
another : this is universally the case in war,
and not unfrequently in law likewise.
Noli Equi Denies inspicere donati.
" A caval donato non guardar in bocca."'
It. " A cheval donn6, il ne faut pas regarder
aux dens." Fr. " We must not look a gift-
horse in the mouth." Presents are not to be
esteemed by their costliness, but by the inten-
tion of the donor. " Aliquando gratius est
quod
( 169 )
quod facili, quam quod plena manu datur,"
what is given freely and without solicitation,
is more acceptable than a more Valuable and
expensive present, that was not obtained with-
out great entreaty.
Munerum, Animus optimus est.
The goodwill and intention of the donor,
constitutes the principal value of the gift.
Xerxes found a draught of water, present-
ed to him by a soldier in the field of battle,
of inestimable value.
, Fabarum Arrosor.
A devourer of beans. The man is become fat,
was used to be said, by feeding on beans. Ap-
plying it to persons who had accepted a bribe,
to put in his bean, which was their mode of
voting, in favour of one of the candidates for
O '
a public office or magistracy. The manners
therefore of the present times, if they are not
mended in this respect, are not worse than
they were formerly.
M 3 Undarum
( 170 )
Undarum in Ulnis.
Persons were said to be up to the elbows in
the sea and striving with them against the
Avaves, who were contending with difficulties
which threatened to overwhelm them. A sU
milar phrase is used by us, speaking of persons
who have more than sufficient employment,
" he has his hands full," we say, or " he is up
to the elbows in business."
Hodie nihil succedit.
Nothing has succeeded, or prospered with
me this day. This, many among the com-
mon people were apt to suppose, proceeded not
from their having omitted some necessary
caution, but from their having begun the work
on an unlucky day ; and there are now, as
there were formerly, persons who esteem cer-
tain days to be unfortunate in which no new
business should be attempted.
Trochi
( 171 )
Trochl in morem.
Like a top which is always turning round
and changing its situation. The adage may
be applied to persons of versatile dispositions,
who have no fixed design, or intention, they
will now be parsons, lawyers, soldiers; or as
Andrew Borde describes our countrymen,
" I am an Englishman, and naked I stand here,
Musing in my inind, what raiment I shall wear;
For now I will wear this, and now 1 will wear that,
And now I will wear, I cannot tell what."
Borde lived in the early part of the sixteenth
century ; we are now doubtless changed, and
become more steady. There are many other
apothegms censuring this mutability of dis-
position, from which the following only is
taken.
Chamteleonte mutabilior.
More changeable than the chameleon,
which was supposed, though not truly, to
assume the colour of every object it ap-
proached.
w 4 Us us
Usus est alt era Natura.
" Use, or custom, is a second nature." It
is of importance, therefore, in the education
of children, to prevent their acquiring habits
that are ungraceful or vicious ; as whatever
watchfulness or care may be afterwards used,
it will be almost impossible to dispossess them-
Timidi Mater nonjlet.
The mother of the coward does not weep,
that is, does not often lament the untimely
death of her son, or that he has met with any
sinister accident, as he will be careful to keep
out of the way of danger, which the brave
and courageous is continually affronting, and
so falls early.
Nemo sibi nascitur.
" Non sibi sed toti mundo se credere natum."
No one is born, or should think himself
born, solely for himself. The helpless state
in
( 173 )
in which we are produced into the world,
might teach us this maxim, or should we
happen to forget it, a very slight fit of sick-
ness would be sufficient to bring it back to
our memories. But even in health we are
none of us able, without the assistance of
others, to prepare every article necessary
for our comfort, or even for our subsistence.
Every thing we wear, and every thing we eat
or drink, requiring the concurrence of several
hands, to make them fit for our use. This
doubtless was intended by Providence to en-
courage mutual benevolence. As we were in-
debted in early life to our parents, teachers,
and friends, for our maintenance, and for all
the knowledge that was instilled into us, it
becomes our duty to shew our sense of the
obligation, by doing every thing in our power
that may contribute to their comfort, and by
giving the like assistance to those who may
have similar claims upon us. The chain link-
ing us together, is by this means kept entire,
and we become what nature intended, social
beings. Plato is said to have first promul-
gated this adage, "Each of us owing," he
says,
( 174 )
says, " a portion of our time, and of our exer-
tions, to our country, to our parents, and to
our friends."
Quod procedere non potest, recedit, and
Non progredi est regredi.
Nothing in this world is stationary, every
thing tending to improvement, or deteriora-
tion. The land that by culture is brought to
produce a plentiful return of grain, if neglect-
ed, soon becomes barren, or is covered with
weeds. The skill and knowledge that is ac-
quired by assiduous study, is only to be re-
tained by continued application, and the for-
tune which industry has accumulated, to be
preserved by exertions similar, in a great mea-
sure, to those by M'hich it was obtained. This
seems agreeable to the scheme of Providence,
inviting, or rather impelling us to a life of
activity, which is equally necessary for the
preservation of our morals, and our health.
" When things are at the worst they will mend,"
that is, a change will take place, which, in that
case, cannot but be for the better. On the
other
( 175 )
other hand, when they have attained the
highest state of perfection, then ought we,
from the known mutability of human affairs,
to fear a reverse, for " what can no further
advance, must recede," as it is expressed in
the Latin adage, which gave birth to these
reflections.
Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, having
been for many years successful in all his wars,
and transactions of every kind, and acquired
an immense increase of territory, and wealth,
was advised by Amasis, the king of Egypt,
his friend and ally, from a persuasion that
such unexampled good fortune must suffer a
reverse, to part with something of great value,
and which he esteemed highly, to avert the
disaster which he believed threatened him.
He accordingly threw into the sea a ring,
containing the richest jewel that he possessed.
A short time after, a fish being sent to him as.
a present, the ring was found in its stomach,
and restored to its master. Amasis, being
now convinced that Polycrates was devoted
to destruction, would have no further league
with him. The story adds, that he was some
time
( 176 )
time after treacherously murdered at Mag-
nesia, by the order of Oroetes, the governor,
at whose house he was on a visit.
Laudatur et alget.
Though he is abundantly commended, still
he is suffered to live in indigence. It is an
old, and too well founded complaint, that the
good man frequently fails in meeting with
that encouragement and assistance, to which,
by his worth, he seems entitled ; nay, that he
has often the mortification of seeing persons,
of no very nice honour, or who are even ma-
nifestly deficient in moral qualities, intercept-
ing those emoluments, which should be the
reward of uprightness and justice. But the
man who is thus rewarded, was active and in-
dustrious, and had merited the preference that
was given him, by performing some service
that was grateful, useful, or even necessary to
the person through whose means he obtained
his advancement ; while the good man, who
was overlooked, might probably want that
assiduity, or ingenuity, which are necessary
to
( 177 )
to enable us .to- be useful to ourselves, or
others. The preference that is said to be given
to men of bad characters, is not given them
on account of their evil qualities, but for
having cultivated their talents, and rendered
themselves serviceable ; neither are the good
passed over on account of their virtues, but
for not having acquired those qualities which
are necessary to make their virtues conspi-
cuous, and which, if possessed, would enable
them to demand the assistance they complain
is withheld from them. The earth yields its
productions, not in proportion to the good or
bad characters of the possessors, but to the
greater or less degree of knowledge and in-
dustry, that have been displayed in its culti-
vation.
" The lucky have their days, and those they choose,
The unlucky have but hours, and those they lose."
Is it not likely, that activity and ingenuity
often supply the place of kick, or fortune, and
that those who complain they are unfortunate,
or unlucky, are in reality only stupid, or in-
dolent ? and perhaps, this is oftener the case,
than we are willing to confess.
Barba
( 173 )
Barbce tenus sapient es.
You know them to be wise by their beards.
This was used to be applied to persons who
placed all knowledge and goodness in dress,
and external appearance, or in the perform-
ance of certain ceremonies. "I fast twice a
week," said the Pharisee, " and give tithes of
all I possess," but he was not accepted. " Si
philosophum oporteat ex barba metiri, hircos
primam laudem ablaturos," if the beard made
the philosopher, then the goat would have a
just right to that title, or as the Greek epi-
grammatist has it,
" If beards long and bushy true wisdom denote,
Then Plato must yield to a shaggy he-goat."
" At non omnes monachi sunt, qui cuculo
onerantur, nee omnes generosi, qui torquem
gestant auream, aut reges, qui diadernate in-
signiuntur;" but all are not monks who wear
a cowl, or gentlemen who are decorated with
golden chains, or kings who are crowned.
Those only in reality deserve the titles, who
act consistently with the characters they as-
sume. " For there are many who talk of Robin
Hood,
( 179 )
Hood, who never shot with his how." "Diga
barba qua haga," let your beard advise you ;
that is, let it remind you that you are a man,
and that you. do nothing unbecoming that
character.
Gallum habeas Amicum, non Vicinum*
"Ayez le Francois pour ton ami, non pas
pour ton voisin," have the French for your
friend, not for your neighbour. But at this
time, viz. 1812, it is as dangerous to have
them for friends, as for neighbours, nothing
being more fatal than to have the honour of
being numbered among their associates, or
allies, as under that title or pretence, they will
take upon them the entire management of
your country. The Apennines have not been
found a sufficient barrier, to prevent their fra-
ternising (a term they have adopted) with the
Spaniards. In 1809, they invited the king of
Spain, and his son, to their camp, pitched on
the borders of the country, to adjust, as they
pretended, some matters of difference between
them, but, possessed of their persons, they
trans-
( 180 )
transported them to the interior of France,
where they have been detained ever since. In
the mean while they have been carrying on a
destructive war in Spain, treating the inha-
bitants who resisted them as rebels, and oblig-
ing many thousands of them to enter into
their armies, and to fight for them in far dis-
tant countries. They have likewise given to
Spain, as king, one of the brothers of Buona-
parte, the present governor, or emperor, as he
has forced the world to acknowledge him, of
the French. The Spaniards, aided by the forces
of this country, are making a vigorous oppo-
sition to them, and may they in the end be
successful in driving them from their terri-
tories ! an event, which is rather to be hoped
than expected.
Beneficium accipere est Libertatem vendere.
Remember, when you receive an obligation,
you part with your liberty. To admit this in
its full extent, would be to destroy the most
pleasing, as well as the most useful intercourse
among men, that of mutually aiding each
other
other by advice and other good offices. It
refers, therefore, only to those who receive
favours, without endeavouring to make any
return; to persons of mean and grovelling
dispositions, who would live on the bounty of
others, without using any exertions to procure
sustenance for themselves. Such men truly
sell themselves, and must suffer1 all the morti-
fications, and insults, that those on whom they
are dependent, may choose to inflict.
Dos est magnet, Parentum Virtus.
The virtue of the parent is a passport through
life to the child. Parents are particularly called
upon to be careful of their conduct, and not
to do any thing that may degrade them, or
any way impeach or injure their moral cha-
racter : not only that the minds of their chil-
dren may not be corrupted by their ill ex-
ample, but that the estimation in which they
are held, may procure for their offspring, the
countenance of their friends, when they shall
be gone. " I have been young," the Psalmist
s^ays, " but now am old, yet never saw I the
VOL. ir. N righteous
( 182 )
righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their
bread."
Dttlcis inevpertis Cultura potent is
Expert us mctuit.
To the inexperienced, the patronage of the
great and powerful is desirable; to those
better acquainted with men and things, it is
rather to be dreaded than courted. Youth is
flattered by the attention of persons of supe-
rior rank and fortune; but those more ac-
quainted with the world, know that the great
rarely admit their inferiors to familiarity with
them, but with a view to their own interest.
They want, it is likely, their assistance in
some business or other, and the intimacy ge-
neralty lasts only so long as they are able to
be serviceable to them. " Eat no cherries with
great men, for they will cast the stones in
your eyes." " Like fire, at a distance they give
warmth, but if too near they burn." " They
forget," Sir Walter Raleigh says, " such as have
done them service, when they have obtained
u'bat they wished for, and will rather hate
them
( 183 )
them for having been the means of their ad-
vancement, than acknowledge the favour."
Does not this, however, often happen through
the imprudence of the client, from his forget-
ing the inferiority of his situation, and affect-
ing an equality, which cannot but be oifensive?
and our proverb avers, that "familiarity breeds
contempt."
Necessitas Magistra.
" Necessity is the mother of invention, and
the most powerful provoker of industry, and
ingenuity. " La n^cessite" n'a point de loi,"
and " La necessidad carece de ley." " Neces-
sity has no law," and " Hunger will break
through stone walls."
" Ingenii largitor venter,
Cautum e rudi reddit magistra necessitas."
Necessity makes the dull man bright, the
sluggard active, the unwary cautious. It
sharpens the wit, and makes men more apt
for instruction.
" Jejunus raro stomachus vulgaria terabit.
Hunger is the best cure for daintiness, "it is
N 2 the
( 184 )
the best sauce;" and " A la hambre, no ay pan
malo;" " A hungry dog will eat dirty pud-
ding." To these may be added the following,
" Impletus venter, non vult studere libenter."
A full belly does not excite to mental labour
or exertion, and want sharpens, but luxury
blunts the disposition to study.
Barbati.
Men with beards. The term was applied
by the Romans to persons of plain, simple,
and rustic or primitive manners, who still
retained the customs of their ancestors. They
had not learned to shave their beards, which
only began to be practised among them four
hundred and fifty years after the building of
the city. The first barbers, Pliny tells us,
were introduced there from the island of
Sicily.
Annosa Vulpes hand capitur Laqueo.
An old fox is not easily to be taken in a
snare;
( 185 )
.snare; age has made him cautious. The
proverb may be applied to persons attempting
to impose upon us, and to excite compassion
by the relation of some affecting but impro-
bable story. " Quaere peregrinum," tell your
tale to one less acquainted with you, or
with the circumstances you are relating; they
will gain you no credit here. " A otro perro,
con esse huesso," throw that bone to another
dog:.
Quod de quoque Viro, et cut dicas sape ca-ceto.
We should be careful not to speak ill of
any one who is absent, particularly in mixed
companies, as some of the parties may know
the person who is censured, and may either
resent the affront, or report to his friend what
had been said to his discredit.
Sat cito, si sat bene.
" Soon enough, if well enough," was an
apothegm frequently in the mouth of Cato.
N 3 When
( 186 )
"When we are shown any work of art, we do
not inquire bow long it was in performing,
but how well it is executed. If it is com-
plete, and excellent in its kind, we readily
give due commendation to the artist, whether
it was struck off at a heat, or effected with
much labour, thought, and attention.
Non est Remedium adversus Sycophants
Morsum.
There is no remedy against slander, it
shquld therefore be borne quietly, and treated
with contempt. What, if 1 have not deserved
it ? Then it will be the more easily borne.
When a Roman patrician was ordered by the
Emperor Tiberius to die, his friends in lament-
ing his doom, dwelt strongly on the injustice
of the sentence. That, said he, my fi iendsr is
my greatest consolation; ye do not surely
wish that I had been guilty.
" Latrantem curatne alta Diana canem ?"
Is the moon disturbed at the barking of a
dog? let them scoff, slander, abuse, wrong,
curse
( 187 )
curse and swear, feign and lye, when they
have done all, innocency will vindicate itself,
and " a good conscience is a continual feast."
Bceotum crasso jurares Acre natum.
You would swear he was a native of Bceotia,
a country famed for its thick and foggy air,
and for the stupidity of its inhabitants.
" Tales sunt hoininum mentes, quales pater ipse
Jupiter, auctifera lustravit lampade terras."
" The minds of men do in the weather share,
Dark or serene, as the day's foul or fair."
That most men find themselves in some
degree affected by the temperature of the
atmosphere, are more cheerful and sprightly,
more disposed to gaiety, and more ready to
enter on any business requiring mental exer-
tion, when warmed and enlivened by a bright
sun, and a clear and pleasant state of the air,
than when that luminary is obscured by thick,
foggy, and moist vapours, has not often been
denied, perhaps by no one formally and in
writing, but "by the late Dr. Johnson, who
x 4 treated
( 188 )
treated the opinion with contempt. It was a
mere excuse for idleness, which every one
would find, he says, who would set themselves
doggedly, that is, determinedly to work.
But this, after all, is only saying that the in-
fluence or effects of a damp and gloomy sky
may be successfully counteracted hy a fixed
and vigorous resolution, not to give way to it.
" Sapiens dominahitur astris." " The wise
man will controul the influence of the stars."
Poeta nascitur, nonfit.
The poet must be born such, no art, care,
or instruction, being sufficient to make a man a
poet, who is not naturally blest with a genius,
and with a turn for that divine art, the harmony
of numbers. Art may direct and improve
genius, but it cannot create it. The same
may be said of every other species of science.
By study and practice, any man may acquire
a competent knowledge of music, of painting,
of medicine, and in mechanics, but if he has
not genius, an inventive faculty, or power, he
will never reach to excellence in any of them.
In
( 139 )
In this way only can we account for the slow
progress made towards perfection in every
art or science. Thousands have in all ages
been as carefully, and as completely educated
as Newton, but the whole world has only
produced one Newton. The same may be
said of Bacon, and a few others who have
shone, and still continue to shine, " Veluti
inter ignes luna minores," like the moon among
the smaller lights of heaven. The Spaniards
attribute this quality to valour. " Nace
el valor, no se adquiere," valour must be
born with us, it is not to be acquired by
instruction. It requires indeed to be re-
strained, to be curbed by laws, that it may
not degenerate into brutal violence, and so be
employed to the destruction instead of the
support of society. Three things are neces-
sary, Aristotle says, to enable us to excel in
any art, " Nature, study, and practice;" and
the Italians say, " Nessuno nasce maestro,"
no one is born a master, or perfect in any
art. Every man may learn to write verses, to
draw or paint a picture, to distinguish or
describe diseases, but to do any of these
exquisitely,
( 190 )
exquisitely, there must be present, the higher
qualities of the mind; a superior degree of
sagacity; a quickness in discerning the rela-
tions objects bear to each other; a readiness
in comparing, combining and discriminating
actions or things, not possessed by persons of
common understandings. Let a person not
possessed of genius write a poem. His verses
will be correct, but there will be no invention,
nothing interesting; no brilliancy of thought
or expression, nothing to surprise or dazzle.
A painter, with moderate talents, will be able
to produce a general representation of the
objects intended to be imitated, you will be
in no danger of mistaking his horses for
elephants. But there will be no character
either in his men or beasts, or none according
with the subject His pictures will want
animation ; you \vill see them without emo-
tion, and part from them with indifference.
A physician, though not possessed of an extra-
ordinary portion of sagacity, may soon ac-
quire a knowledge of the diseases that most
frequently occur, and of the common routine
of practice in such cases, so that he will have
the
the satisfaction of knowing, when he fails,
that his patient died " secundum artem." In
more abstruse cases, and in those that are less
common, he will he very likely to mistake one
disease for another, and not perhaps discover
his error, until the mischief is irreparable. It
is rarely, however, that the reputation of the
physician suffers by a blunder of this kind,
which is buried with the patients; " for the
earth covers the errors of the physician."
Physicians have this advantage over the pro-
fessors of other arts. Medicine is held to be
a mystery, into which it would be a sort of
impiety, for persons not initiated to pry.
Like the Philistines for looking into the ark,
they might be smitten with emrods, or some
other plague. It is difficult therefore for
persons not within the pale, to appreciate
their value, or knowledge. The art abounds
also, beyond all others, with technical terms,
and he who has the skill to lard his conversa-
tion with the greatest number of them, will
probably be esteemed the best physician.
There seems also an opinion, more prevalent
than we are individually perhaps disposed to
admit.
admit, that there is something of a fatality in
our deaths; or in other words, that there is a
time fixed, beyond which \ve can none of us
continue to live. This is extremely con-
venient to the professors of medicine, as it
leaves them in full possession of the credit of
curing all the sick that may happen to get
well while under their care, and at the same
time it takes from them all blame or responsi-
bility when they die. " Dios es el que sana,
y el medico lleva la plata." Though it is God
who cures, the physician gets the fee. Thus
we find the Canon in Gil Bias saying, " Je
vois bien qu'il faut mourir, malgre" la vertu de
1'eau ; etquoi qu'il ne reste a peine une goute
de sang, je ne m'en porte pas mieux pour cela.
Ce qui prouve bien que le plus habile medecin
du monde ne sauroit prolonger nos jours,
quand leur terme fatal est arriveV' I know
that I must die notwithstanding the great
efficacy there is in water: and although I
have scarcely a drop of blood remaining in
my veins, I still find myself no better, a clear
proof that the most skilful physician cannot
preserve our lives, when the fatal hour arrives..
Bui
But leaving this digression, this seems the
most rational way of explaining the adage
" Poeta nascitur." It is prohable, however,
that the ancients had a further meaning.
They attached something of divine to the cha-
racter of the poet, who was also called vates,
as supposing him to be the interpreter of the
behests of the deity. The custom among the
poets of invoking the Muses, and calling for
their assistance in the beginning of their works,
without doubt contributed to strengthen the
delusion. This practice has been long since
discontinued. Prior, alluding to the opinion
that poets received their verse- by inspiration,
Says, ludicrously enough,
" If inward wind does truly swell ye,
It must be the cholic in your belly."
Qui Luccrna egent, infundunt Okum.
When we have occasion for a lamp, we trim
it and fill it with oil. Anaxagoras having
been often consulted by Pericles, and very
advantageously, in the government of his coun-
try • becoming old, and finding himself en-
tirely
tirely neglected by his pupil and his former
services forgotten, determined, by a total ab-
stinence from food, to put an end to his ex-
istence ; this being told to Pericles, he called
upon and entreated him to desist from his pur-
pose, as he had business requiring his assist-
ance ; but the philosopher being now near
dying, answered, " O Pericles, et quibus lu-
cerna opus est, infundunt oleum." Thus re-
proving him for his inattention, when he
thought he should have no further occasion
for his advice. The phrase thence became
proverbial.
*
Dulce est Mlseris Socws habuisse Dolor is.
It is a comfort to the wretched to have
companions in their misfortunes. It is plea-
sant, Lucretius says, standing on the shore
to see a ship driven about by a tempest ; or
from the window of a castle, to see a battle;
not that we rejoice in the sufferings of the un-
happy people in the vessel, who all of them,
perhaps, after long struggling with the dan-
ger, perish in the ocean ; or at the fate of
those
those who are killed or wounded in the bat-
tle : the pleasure arises from our being exempt
from the danger in which we see so many of
our fellow creatures immersed. The comfort,
therefore, that we experience in having com-
panions in our troubles, in finding others suf-
fering pains similar to those with which we are
afflicted, does not arise from seeing them in
pain, but from finding that we are not singled
out in a particular manner to bear a greater
portion of evil than falls to the lot of
others : whenever this does happen, it adds-
greatly to the misery of what kind so ever it
may be. Some men are peculiarly unhappy
in this way ; in all public calamities, whether
by sickness-, fire, or inundations, a much larger
than their proportion of the evil, being sure
to fall upon them. But upon what principle
are we to account for the avidity with which
people flock to be present at executions? here
they become voluntary spectators of one of
the most distressing and afflicting scenes that
can be well imagined; particularly when the
execution is attended with any additional cir-
cumstances of horror; when the criminals are
made
( 196 )
made to suffer the most excruciating torture
before death relieves them from their misery,
May we attribute this propensity to curiosity,
to a desire to see in what manner human
strength or courage is able to bear such an
extremity of evil r It were much to be wished,
that women, whose soft and delicate frames
seem to render them unfit for such scenes, did
not make so large a portion of the spectators
ou such occasions,
".I have long been sorry," Mrs. Montagu
says, Letters, Vol. IV, " to see the best of our
sex running continually after public specta-
cles and diversions, to the ruin of their health
and understandings, and neglect of all do-
mestic duties : but I o\vn the late instance of
their going to hear Lord Ferrers's sentence
particularly provoked me: the ladies crowded
to the House of Lords, to see a wretch brought
loaded with crime and shame to the bar, to hear
sentence of a cruel and ignominious death ;
which, considering only this world, cast shame
on his ancestors and all his succeeding family.
There was in this case every thing that could
disgrace human nature and civil distinctions;
but
( 197 )
but it was a sight, and in spite of all pretences
to tenderness and delicacy they went adorned
with jewels, and laughing and gay to see
their fellow creature in the most horrid situa-
tion, making a sad end of this life, and in
fearful expectation of the commencement of
another."
Lord Ferrers, it is known, was hanged for
shooting one of his servants, in the year 1760.
Fuere quondam Milesii.
The Milesians were once a brave and hard}'
people. " Troja fuit." The magnificent city
of Troy once existed, though no vestiges
even of the ruins of its walls and temples now
remain. I was once rich and powerful, but
am now poor, miserable, and wretched ; con-
demned to serve where I formerly command-
ed ; may be said, particularly at this moment,
by many fallen potentates ; fallen, most or
all of them, by their own misconduct and
mistaken notions of government. For the great
changes which have taken place in the condi-
VOL. IT. o tion
tion of the princes of Europe could never have
been effected, if their self-indulgences and
want of energy in the exercise of their high
authorities, frequently the consequence of a
voluptuous life and wrong principles of action,
had not co-operated, unfortunately, too power-
fully with the force of their conqueror and
brought on their ruin: they were enslaved by
their inordinate passions which led to the op-
pression of their subjects, and was ultimately
the occasion of losing their affections. The
people were in the situation of the overloaded
ass in the fable, who, when told to hasten for
there were robbers at hand, answered, it mat-
tered little whom he served since he must still
carry his panniers. But to pursue rny theme:
I was once young, strong, and vigorous, may
be said, but am now old, feeble, and decrepid.
These reflections, though trite, may still have
their utility ; for as they teach us, by shewing
what has happened, to expect reverses in our
state, they tend to enforce upon us the pro-
priety of using our prosperity with modera-
tion.
The Milesians, who have long since ceased
to
( 199 )
to be a people, were not conquered by their
enemies, until they had left off to be strong
and courageous ; until luxury, the conse-
quence of their success, and opulence, had
enervated and enfeebled them.
Massiliam naviges.
You are going the way of the Massilians,
may be said to inconsiderate spendthrifts, who
are dissipating what had been acquired for
them, either by good fortune or the industry
and frugality of their ancestors. The Massi-
lians, once a brave and independent people,
having by their commerce acquired great afflu-
ence, became so debauched, extravagant and
effeminate, as to fall an easy prey to the
neighbouring states.
Non unquam tacuisse nocet, nocet esse
loquutum.
What is retained and kept in the mind can
never injure, it may injure us to have divulged
it. " Quien calla, piedras apana," he that is
o 2 silent
( 200 )
silent is heaping up stones; he is thinking
how he may profit hy what others are saying;
and " Oveja que bala bocada pierde," the
sheep loses a mouthful when it bleats. Silence
is the sanctuary of prudence, and properly
used, it is one of the most valuable attributes
of wisdom. " The fool's bolt is soon shot," he
has little in him, and over that little he has no
controul; he is always, therefore, saying some-
thing that is unseasonable and improper ; he is
precipitate in his judgment, and determines
before he M7ell knows the proposition to which
his assent is required. But the wise man is
reserved and cautious, " he looks before he
leaps," " thinks before he speaks/' and " even
of a good bargain he thinks twice before he
says done," for he knows that appearances
are often deceitful, and that " all is not gold
that glitters," " he has wide ears, and a short
tongue," therefore more ready to hear the opi-
nions of others, than to proclaim his own.
Augustus Cassar bore a sphinx, an emblem of
silence, on his ring, intimating that the coun-
sels of princes should be secret. But silence
is often adopted for very different purposes
and
( 201 )
and from different motives : some make use
of it, to cover their ignorance ; conscious of
their inability to bear a part in the conversa-
tion, they avoid venturing their opinion, and
" wisely keep the fool within," in which they
shew a commendable prudence ; " even a fool
when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise,
and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man
of understanding." " Parla poco, ascolto
assai, et non fallirai," speak little and attend
to what falls from others, and you will commit
no error. Others again are silent through
craft, fearful lest by some unguarded expres-
sion they should betray the part they had
taken in some transaction, in which they
would not be thought to have been concern-
ed ; or that they should discover their opi-
nion or intention, which may be the reverse
of what they publicly profess : such men,
to use the strong language of Churchill,
" Lest bokl truth to do sage wisdom spight,
Should burst the portals of their lips by night,
Tremble to trust themselves one hour in sleep."
Yet there is an instance on record, where
o 3 silence
( 202 )
silence is said to have occasioned the destruc-
tion of a country, whence the following :
Amyclas perdidit Silentia.
Amyclas was lost by silence. The magis-
trates of this city having been frequently
alarmed by some of the more timid inhabi-
tants, with reports of an enemy being at hand
when no danger was near, ordered, under the
penalty of a severe punishment, that no one
should again disturb them with such rumours.
At length, when an enemy was actually ap-
proaching, the people not daring, on ac-
count of the law to give the necessary in-
formation, the city was taken. The proverb
may be applied to any one neglecting the
proper opportunity or time for doing any ne-
cessary business.
Ubi tres Medici, duo Athei.
Where there are three physicians, there are
two atheists. Whence could a censure so
senseless, derive its origin ? since physicians,
whose
( 203 )
whose professions led them in a particular
manner to examine into the properties of na-
tural bodies, must have been among the first
to see and admire the order, regularity, and
beauty of their structure.
" Presentemque refert quajlibet herba deum."
Every herb having a signature of the divine
Majesty stamped upon it. Need it be added,
that the anatomy of the human, or of any
other animal body, afforded no less pregnant
proofs of the existence of an all- wise and
powerful Architect; since nothing less than
such a being could have contrived, and put
together, such exquisite pieces of mechanism.
But the habit of inquiring, and looking deeply
into the nature and structure of the bodies
they examined, might make them sceptical,
and not ready to credit what could not be
submitted to a similar test. They might not,
therefore, be disposed to treat with reverence,
the rabble of gods that disgraced the calen-
dars of Greece and Rome ; and this might be
sufficient to induce the common people to
brand them with the name of atheists. Sir
o 4 Thomas
( 204 )
Thomas Brown, in his singular book, "Religio
Medici," after defending the profession from
the imputation of atheism, gives his own creed,
in which, on all material points, he is suffi-
ciently orthodox, but in matters which he
conceived not to be essential, he carved for
himself. Indeed, he seems to have had a very
extended faith, and to have thought that the
more improbable any of the tenets of religion
were, the more merit there was in believing
them. He was a perfect convert to the reso-
lution of Tertullian, "credo quia impossible
est," I believe it, because it is impossible. "I
desire to exercise my faith," he says, "in the
difficultest points ; for to credit ordinary and
visible objects, is not faith, but persuasion."
He joined also heartily in the then popular
opinion of witchcraft. " I have ever believed,"
he says, " and do now know that there are
witches," and he charges those who disbelieve
in them, "as being a sort, not of infidels, but
atheists." Chaucer does not speak very fa-
vourably of the faith of the medical corps.
" Physicians know what is digestible,
But their study is but little in the bible."
• ( 205 )
And another Poet says,
" I have heard, how true
I know not, most physicians as they grow
Greater in skill, grow less in their religion;
Attributing so much to the natural causes,
That they have little faith in that they cannot
Deliver reason for."
Time, which has corrected the erroneous opi-
nion of witches, has also released the studious
in medicine, from the reproach of infidelity,
and they are now allowed to have as just a
sense of religion, as any other of the classes
of mankind.
Multos in summa Pericula misit,
Venturl Timor ipse Mali.
Men are often through the dread of some
misfortune threatening them, so disturbed, and
so completely deprived of judgment, as not to
see, or be able to use the means, which, in a
more easy and quiet state of their minds, would
have been sufficiently obvious, and by which
they might have avoided the evil, so that to
standers by, they seem to have acted under
some
( 206 )
some secret impulse, or to have been fascinated.
It is fear that deprives the bird of the power
of escaping the snake, if it has once caught its
eye; not daring to turn its face from the
frightful object, it necessarily every step it
takes approaches nearer, and at length, depri-
ved of all sense and power, falls into its jaws.
" Quo timoris minus est, eo minus ferme periculi est."
Where there is the least fear, there is, for the
most part, least danger; though the Spaniards
say, " Quien obra sin miedo, yerra su hecho,"
he who acts without fear, aots wrong; but
the word miedo, fear, in this sentence, means
only care, caution or attention.
Rebus in adversis, facile est contenmere Mortem,
Fortius ille facit, qui miser esse potest.
Men of strong minds contend with diffi-
culties and misfortunes, and frequently suc-
cessfully, or if they cannot be completely
averted, bear them patiently, by which means
they become lighter, and their sting is
blunted ;
( 207 )
blunted; it is the coward only that seeks to
escape them by death.
" Hie rogo, non furor est ne moriare
Mori?"
Is it not madness to kill yourselves lest ye
should die ? to suffer the greatest misfortune
that can befall you to escape a less ? — But,
with Martial's leave, this is not a right state-
ment of the position. Men do not kill
themselves to escape dying, but to put an end
to a thousand cares and perplexities which
make life a burthen to them. Agis being
asked which way a man might live free,
answered, " by despising death."
" Emori nolo, sed me esse mortuum nihil estimo."
I feel no difficulty in saying I wish I were
dead, but I have not courage sufficient to
embrace a voluntary death, or to put an end
to my existence.
Quoniam id fieri quod vis non potetf,
Id veils quod possis.
Since you cannot effect what you are solici-
tous
( 208 )
tous to obtain, be contented with what you
have. That is, we should not suffer the want
of something upon which we may have impru-
dently set our affection, to prevent our enjoy-
ing, and being thankful for what we actually
possess, and we should the rather do this, as,
if we are incapable of bounding our desires,
the object we are in pursuit of, would, if
obtained, contribute very little to our con-
tentment.
*' Against our peace \ve arm our will,
Amidst our plenty something still,
For horses, houses, pictures, planting,
To me, to thee, to him are wanting.
That cruel something unpossess'd,
Corrodes, and leavens all the rest;
That something if we could obtain,
Would soon create a future pain."
Venter obesus non gignit Mentem subtilem.
An over crammed belly does not produce a
quick, and ready wit, or " fat paunches make
lean pates." The Lacedemonians, who were
remarkably frugal in their diet, had such an
abhorrence
( 209 )
abhorrence and contempt for fat and corpu-
lent persons, that they were about to banish
from their city, Auclides, one of their country-
men, who, by a course of indolent and volup-
tuous living-, had swelled himself to an enor-
mous bulk, and were only deterred from it by
his engaging to live for the future more
sparingly. They would have no inhabitants
but such as, in time of danger, might be
assisting in repelling an enemy.
Quid ad Farinas ?
What profit do you expect from this, or
how will it conduce to provide you with
bread, to which your attention should be
principally turned, may be said to young
persons, who are seen neglecting their busi-
ness, and spending their time in idle pursuits,
in keeping loose company, in haunting tavern s?
playhouses, and assemblies, in reading novels
and romances, or in taking up the trade of
poetry, without any better call than their
own silly conceit; a vice now very prevalent.
" Quid me numeri tantlem ad farinas juverint?"
Mortui
( 210 )
Mortui non mordent.
The dead do not bite, cannot hurt you.
This apothegm was used by Theodore Chius,
master in rhetoric to Ptolemy king of Egypt,
when consulted by him whether they should
grant an asylum to Pompey, who had landed
on their coast, after being defeated by Julius
Caesar. He advised them to receive him, and
put him to death; adding, " Mortuos non
mordere." Our more common phrase, and
which is probably used by ruffians who deter-
mine to murder those they rob, is, " the
dead tell no tales."
De Calceo solicitus, at Pedem nihil curet.
Looking more to the fashion of the shoe
than to the ease of the feet, which those
persons were said to do, who paid more atten-
tion to the diet than to the education of their
children.
Verbum
Verbum Sapient i.
" A buon intenditore poche parole."
" Le sage entend un demi mot."
" Al buen entendador pocas palabras.
" A word to the wise." To a sensible man,
but few words are ordinarily necessary, and a
fool will not understand you, though you
should give him a long dissertation.
Tanquam meum Nomen.
TanqUam Ungues, Digitosque suos.
It is a subject I am as well acquainted with,
as I am with my own name, or with my
fingers, was used to be said to persons repeat-
ing any well known story or circumstance.
" Totis diebus, Afer, hcec mihi narras,
Et teneo melius ista, quam meum nomen."
You are perpetually teasing me with a repeti-
tion of this story, which is as familiar to me
as my own name.
Mittc
( 212 )
Mitte in Aquam, hoc est, Aufer t medio.
A phrase for which we have no direct sub-
stitute. Take him away, to the river with
him. To the pump or to the horse pond, is
sometimes the cry of the mob in this country,
when they take upon themselves to execute
summary justice on some poor wretch taken
in the act of picking a pocket, or in the com-
mission of some crime for which they con-
ceive them properly to be amenable to their
tribunal. But among the ancients, certain
criminals were condemned to be tied in a sack
and drowned, which is what the adage
alludes to, and this kind of punishment is still
used in Germany. Parricides in Rome were
put into a sack with a cock, a monkey, a ser-
pent, and a dog, and thrown into a river or
into the sea, to which Juvenal alludes, in the
following lines, as translated by Hodgson.
" If votes were free, what slave so lost to shame.
Prefers not Seneca's to Nero's name,
Whose parricides, not one close sack alone,
One serpent, nor one monkey could atone ?"
Xero
Nero, it is known, caused his mother, two
of his wives, and Seneca his tutor to be put to
death.
Perdere Naulum.
" Echar la soga tras el caldero." " It is
throwing the rope after the bucket, the helve
after the hatchet," may be said to persons
under misfortunes, who, instead of exerting
themselves to recover what they have lost,
give way to despair, and so suffer what re-
mains of their property to be wrecked likewise.
" Furor cst post omnia perdere naulum."
But the adage is more immediately appli-
cable to persons who have made an unsuccess-
ful venture, \vho have taken goods to a
country where they are little in request, or
are valued at a very low price. Do not let
them be destroyed, get, at the least, so much
for them as will pay the freight; " of a bad
bargain we should make the best," and, " half
a loaf is better than no bread."
VOL, ir. if Turpz
( 214 )
Turpe siler e.
It is disgraceful to be silent. When a man
is conscious that he is capable of instructing
his fellow-citizens, or those with whom he is
connected, in any art that might be beneficial
to them, it is disgraceful, or perhaps criminal,
to withhold it.
" Be niggards of advice on no pretence,
For the worst avarice is that of sense."
It may also be said by any one, who should
find others not so well qualified as himself,
acquiring honour by the practice of any art or
profession, I must now exert myself, and shew
these men, that it was not through incapacity,
that I have hitherto abstained, " It would be
disgraceful to be any longer silent," and to a
circumstance of this kind, the adage is said to
have owed its origin.
Medice, cur a te ipsum.
Physician, heal thyself. It seems but just,
that those who profess to cure the diseases of
others, should, as a pledge of their capacity,
b§ able to preserve themselves, and families,
from
( 215 )
from the ravages of them. But how few are
able to give this pledge ! Practitioners in
medicine, are neither more remarkable for
longevity, nor for producing or rearing a more
healthy, or a more numerous progeny, than
those who are out of the pale of the profession.
This, however, does not arise from the fault of
the physician, but from the imperfection of
the art ; for though there is no branch of
science that has been cultivated with more
diligence, than this of medicine, or that has
had the advantage of being practised by men
of greater genius, abilities, and learning, or
who have laboured with greater industry, per-
severance, and zeal, to bring it to perfection;
yet they have been so far from attaining their
object, that there are many diseases, and
among them, some of the most frequent, for-
midable, and fatal, for which no adequate, or
successful methods of treatment, have been
discovered. The treatment of rheumatism is
at this time as various, unsettled, and gene-
rally as inefficient, as it was £000 years ago ;
and although so many volumes have beeu
written on asthma, and consumption, it is to
p<2 be
( 216 )
be lamented that no satisfactory proof can be
given, that either of them were ever cured by
medicine. Much might, perhaps, be clone to-
wards the improvement of the practice, if
physicians would follow the model which
the late Dr. Pleberden has left them in his
Commentaries ; in my judgment, one of the
best books which this, or any other age, or
country, has produced on the subject. The
College of Physicians have done something
towards leading practitioners to this mode,
by abolishing the vain titles heretofore given
to drugs and compositions, attributing to them
qualities which experience by no means war-
rants us in believing they possess. But even
in the complaints mentioned above, and many
more might be added, the physician may be
often able to give directions that may retard
their progress, and enable the patient to pass
his life with some degree of comfort; and
he who limits his endeavours to procuring
these advantages, will well deserve their grate-
ful acknowledgments, he will also escape the
censures so frequently thrown on the profes-
sors of the art. " Turba medicorum perii," a
multitude
( 217 )
multitude of physicians have destroyed me,
was the inscription the Emperor Adrian or-
dered to be put upon his monument. It would
be useless, perhaps in some degree mischiev-
ous, to recite the many sarcastic speeches that
have been recorded to degrade the practice
of mediciue. The effect they should have,
and which, indeed, they have had on the more
judicious practitioners, is not, on every occa-
sion, to load their patients with drugs, which,
when not absolutely necessary, deserve a dif-
ferent name than that of medicines. With no
great impropriety they may be called poisons;
for, although they may not kill, yet if they
nauseate, and destroy the tone of the stomach,
and have the effect of checking and prevent-
ing the powers of the constitution in their
efforts to expel the disease, they cannot fail
of doing much mischief. Baglivi, addressing
himself to young practitioners, says, " Quam
paucis remediis curantur morbi ! Quam pi u res
e vita tollit remediorum farrago!" and Sy-
denham advises, in many cases, rather to trust
to nature, it being a great error to imagine
that every case requires the assistance of art.
P 3 It
( 218 I
It should be considered, that as there are some
diseases for which medicine has not yet found
out any cure, there are others for which no
medicines are required, the constitution being
of itself, or only aided by rest, and a simple
and plain diet, sufficient to overcome them.
The French therefore say, with much good
sense, "Un bouillon dechoux fait perd re cinque
sous au medecin," a mess of broth hath lost
the physician his fee. That this adage is an-
cient may be concluded from the smallness of
the fee assigned to the doctor. The Undertaker,
in the Funeral, or Grief a-la-mode, among his
expenses, mentions ten pounds paid for a Trea-
tise against Water-gruel, "a damned healthy
slop, that has done his trade more mischief,"
he says, " than all the faculty." The Spaniards
on this subject say, " Al enfermo que es vida,
el agua le es medicina," the patient who is
not destined to die, will need no other medi-
cine than water : such is their opinion of the
efficacy of abstinence. " It is no less disgrace-
ful,''" Plutarch says, " to ask a physician, what
is easy, and what is hard of digestion, and
what will agree with the stomach, and what
not,
( 219 )
not, than it is to ask what is sweet, or bitter,
or sour." Our English adage, which is much
to this purport, and with which I shall close
this essay is, " Every man is a fool or a phy-
sician, at forty."
Facilius sit Nili Caput invenire.
It Mrould be easier to find the source of the
Nile. This has in all ages been considered as
so difficult, that the proverb was used to re-
present something scarcely possible ever to be
effected : this opinion was not formed until
after a variety of experiments had been made
with a view to its discovery. But the dis-
tance of its head or source from any of the
parts of Africa that had been visited or were
known to Europeans, or to the inhabitants of
the northern parts of that vast continent, is so
great, and the countries lying between them
inhabited by such numerous tribes of savages,
that all the expeditions formed for that pur-
pose had failed, and so many lives had been
lost in the attempt, that the project had for
p 4 many
( 220 )
many ages been laid aside. That one of its
sources is now known, is owing to the genius
or industry of certain Portuguese missiona-
ries. Mr. Bruce, indeed, assumes to himself
the merit of having made this discovery, but
it had been very circumstantially described by
Lobo, in his account of Abyssinia, whose work
on the subject was translated by Dr. Johnson,
and by Sir Peter Wyche, in his " Short Rela-
tion of the River Nile," translated by him
from the Portuguese, and published by order
of the Royal Society in 1673: perhaps a short
extract from this little tract, which is not com-
mon, may be acceptable.
" One of the provinces of Abyssinia," the
•writer says, " is called Agoas ; the inhabitants
of the same name, whether these bestowed
their name or took it from the province. The
higher part of the country is mountainous
and woody, yet not without vallies and groves
of cedars, for goodness and scent not inferior
to those of Lebanus. In this territory is the
known head and source of the Nile, by the
natives called Abani, the father of waters,
from the great collection it makes in the king-
doms
doms and provinces through which it passeth;
for the greatest part of Ethiopia being moun-
tainous and the torrents swelled in the winter,
the mountains so transmit them as to increase
the river, which falling into the Nile make no
little addition to its greatness, causing it to
run with such a stock of water as overflows the
plains of JEgypt. This is the river the Scrip-
ture calleth Gihon, which encompassed the
land of Ethiopia, so doth the Nile with its
turnings and meanders. The head rises in the
most pleasant recess of the territory, having
two springs called eyes, each about the big-
ness of a coachwheel, distant from each other
about twenty paces: the pagan inhabitants
adore as an idol the biggest, offering to it
many sacrifices of cows which they kill there,
flinging the head into the spring, eat the flesh
as holy, lay the bones together in a place de-
signed for that purpose, which at present
make a considerable hill, and would make it
much bigger, if carnivorous beasts and birds
of prey did not, by picking them, lessen and
scatter them."
The curious reader will be struck with ob-
serving
serving how very nearly the account given by
Mr. Bruce resembles this, which is here laid
before him. That Mr. Bruce should take no
notice of either of these books, though it is
scarcely possible but he must have seen or
heard of them, is singular.
Mr. Rennel has however shewn, in a late
publication on the Geography of Herodotus,
that the river, the head of which has been here
described, is only one and an inferior source
of the Nile, and that the largest and princi-
pal source of that celebrated stream rises at a
great distance from Agoas, and much higher
up in the country, and which has probably
never yet been visited by any European.
The principal source of the Nile, therefore,
remaining still undiscovered, the proverb con-
tinues in full force.
Terram video.
I see land, may be said by persons getting
nearly to the end of a long and troublesome
business, or concluding any great work or la-
bour; more directly, and to this the adage
owes its origin-, by those who have been a long
time
( 223 )
time at sea, and perhaps been driven about by
adverse winds, on first espying the shore,
" Thank God, I once more see land 1" an eja-
culation which some of my readers may per-
haps make at finding they have got to the
end of this hook ; and it may not be less satis-
factory to them to learn, that the writer or
collector of this miscellany is too far advanced
in life, to be likely to make any considerable
addition to them.
FINIS.
INDEX.
A a ERR A RE a Scopo — • 224
Ab Incunabulis — — 163
Ab Ovo usque ad Mala — 230
ActiLabores jucundi — 281
Ad Amussim 131
Ad Concilium ne accesseris, antequam voceris 58
Ad felicem inflectere Parietem — — 66
Ad Fincm ubi perveneris, ne veils rcverti 13
Ad pcenitendum properat cito qui judicat vol. ii. 95
At! Unguem 131
Adversus Solem ne loquitor 14
yEdibus in nostris quae prava aut recta geruutur 142
jEgroto dum Anima est, spes est vol. ii. 13
/Equalis aequaletn delectat 43
/Ethiopem ex Vultu judico — 210
A Fabis abstineto — f)
Albas Gallinae Filius 31
Album Calculum addere 122
Alicnos Agros irrigas, tuis sitientibus — 67
Alii sementcm faciunt, alii metent 119
AUorum Medicus, ipse Ulceribus scates vol. ii. 31
Aliam
•26 INDEX.
Page
Aliam Quercum excute — 120
Altera Manu fert Lapidem, altera Panem ostentat 177
Altera Manu scabunt, altera feriunt — 177
Ama tanquam osurus, oderis tanquani amaturus 252
Amens longus — — 54
Amicorum communia sunt omnia — 1
Amyclas perdidit Silentium vol. ii. 203
Anicularum Deliramenta vol. ii. 102
Animo aegrotanti Medicus est Oratio • — vol. ii. 90
An nescis longas Regibns esse Manus ? — — 35
Annosa Vulpes baud capitur Laqueo — 209
and vol. ii. 184
Annosam Arborem transplantare — — 89
Ansam quaerere — — 105
Ante Barbam doces senes — vol. ii. 70
Ante hac putabam te habere Cornua — vol. ii. 70
Antequam incipias, consulto 288
Annulus aureus in Naribus Suis — — 162
Anus Hircum olet — vol. ii. 93
Anus Simia serd quidem vol. ii. 22
Aphya ad Ignem vol. ii. 103
Apii Opus est — — vol. ii. 59
A puro pura defluit Aqua — — vol. ii. 66
Aquilae Senecta — — — 205
Aranearum Telas texere — 89
Arctum Anulum ne gestato — 9
Are varia Vulpi, ast una Echino maxima 114
Artem qurcvis alit Terra — 163
Asinum sub Frceno currere doces 89
Asinus inter Simias — — -•- 115
Asinus
INDEX. 227
Page
Asinus in Unguento — — 118
Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum — • 153
Astutior Coccyge — vol. ii. 153
A teneris Unguiculis 163
Athos celat Latera Lemniae Bovis — vol. ii. 64
Avarus uisi quum moritur, nil recte facit vol. ii. 165
Aureo piscari Hamo 265
Auribus Lupum teneo — 114
Auro loquenti nihil pollet qusevis Ratio — vol. ii. 7 1
Aurum Tolosanum 243
Ausculta et perpende — vol. ii. 117
Aut bibat aut abeat 225
Aut Caesar aut nullus — 6%
Aut Regem aut Fatuum nasci oportuit — 62
BARBJE ten us Sapientes — 60
and vol. ii. 178
Barbati — vol. ii. 18-t
Baeta turn Hyeme turn Estate bona — vol. ii. 105
Belte narras 250
Bellura inexpertis vol. ii. 137
Bcneficium accipere, est Libertatem vendere vol. ii. 49
and 180
Bis dat qui cito dat 190
Bis interimitur qui suis Armis pent vol. ii. 125
Bis Pueri Senes 100
Bceotum in crasso jurares A tire natum vol. ii. 187
Bona k Tergo formosissirna 276
Bona magis carendo quain truendo sentimus — 276
.Bona? Leges ex mails Moribus procreantur 231
Bona
.228 INDEX.
Pagt
Bona nemini Hora est, quin alicui sit mala vol. ii. 16'8
Boni Pastoris est tondere Pecus, non deglubere vol. ii. 103
Bonis vel malis Avibus — — —
Bonus Dux bonum reddit Comitem — -^—
Bos alienus subincle prospectat Foras — —
Bos in Linua — — —
caeco Dux — — 180
Camaelus desiderans Cornua etiam Aures perdidit 44
vol. ii. 94
Camelus saltat — vol. ii. 43
Canes Socium in Culina nullum amant — — 44
Canes timidi vehementius lalrant vol. ii. 109
Canis in Praesepi 221
Canis festinans caecos parit Catulos 257
Canlabit vacuus coram Latrone Viator — 77
Cantilenam eandem canere vol. ii. 2S
Captantes capti sumus — — 210
Catulae Dominas imitantes — vol.ii. 55
Caudaa Pilos equkiae paulatim evellere — 192
Cedro digna locutus vol.ii. 128
Certa sunt paucis 116'
Chamaeleonte mutabilior — vol.ii. 171
Chius Dominum emit — — vol. ii. 9
Cibum in Matellam ne immittito 12
Citius quam Asparagi coquuntur vol. ii. 102
Citra Arationem, citraque Sementem • — 129
Citra Pulverem 129
Clavam extorquere Herculi vol.ii. 127
Ccenare me doces -r* — vol. ii. 95
Cosnatio
IKDEX. 229
Page
Cognatio rnovet Invidiam — vol. ii. 67
Conscientia mille Testes 337
Contra Sfimulum calces — 69
Contra Torrentem niti • — vol. ii. 91
Cor ne edito — — — 7
Corinthiari - — vol. ii. 154
Comix Scorpium rapuit — 26
Coronam quidem gestans caeterum Siti perditus 26l
Corrumpunt Mores bonos Colloquia prava 236
Corycanis auscultavit voL ii. 89
Crambe bis posita, Mors — — — 101
Crehl vel Carbone notare 123
Croesi Pecunioe ter unciam addere 38
Cui placet obliviscitur, cui dolet meminit 154
Cum Lacte Nutricss 163
Cum Larvis luctari 47
Cumini Sector — — 247
Cura esse quod audis — — vol. ii. 129
Currus Bovem trahit •—-;.'• — - — 160
DATE mihi Pelvim *— vol. ii. 6&
Davus sum non CEdipus — — — 109
De Asini Umbra 71
De Calceo solicitus, at Pedem nihil curet vol. ii. 210
De Fiece haurire 2l6
De Filo pendet — 207
De Fructu Arborem cognosce 211
De Fumo disceptare »— 72
De Lana cnprina 71
ii. V Delphiaurn
230 INDEX.
Page
Delphinuai natare doces, vel Aquilam volare — 9*
Deraulcere Caput vol. ii. 55
De mortuis nil nisi bonum — — 47
Den tern Den te rodere • — — vol.ii. 35
Deorum Cibus est — 186
De Pilo pendet — 207
Destitutus Ventis Remos adhibe — vol. ii. l62
De te Exemplum capit — — vol.ii. 145
Dies adimit ^Egritudinem vol. ii. 18
Difficilia qoae pulehra — 246
Difficilius est sarcire Concordiam quam rumpere 24-7
Digitum noft porrexerim 67
Dignum Patella Operculum — 232
Dii Laneos Pedes habent 242
Dimidium facti, qui benc cepit, habet — 45
Dimidium plus toto — — — 257
Divitis Servi niaxime Servi vol. ii. 147
Dives aut iniquus est, aut iniqui hrercs 199
Dolium volvitur — vol, ii. 156
Dos est magna Parentuin Virtus vol. ii. 181
Duabus sedcre Sellis 151
Dulce est miseris Socios habuisse Doloris vol. ii. 194
Dolcis inexpertis Culturu potentis Amici vol. ii. ISO
Duos insequens Lepores, neutrum capit vol. ii, 101
Durum ct durum non faciunt Murum — vol.ii. 72
EANDEM tumlerc Incudem — 2l6
Ejusdem Farinae « — l6l
Elephantus non capit Murem — 207
Elephantem ex Musca facis — , 208
Erner*
231
Page
Emere inalo quam rogare 67
E multis Paleis paulura Fructus 56
Emuncta? Naris Homo 141
Eodem Collyrio mederi omnibus vol. ii. 114
Equi et Poetae alendi mm saginandi vol. ii. 130
Equus Sejauus — — 244
E quovis Ligno non fit Mercurius vol. ii. 24
Et meum Telum Cuspidem habet acuminatum 59
Etiamsi Cato dicat vol. ii. l6\
E tardigradis Asinis, Equus non prodiit vol. ii. 45
Eum ausculta, cui quatuorsunt Aures — 65
Ex eodem Ore calidum et frigidum effkire — 177
Exigit et e Statuis Farinas vol. ii. 64
Exiguum Maluin ingens Bonum vol. ii. 2t>
Ex Harena I'uniculum needs — 10.9
Ex Pede Herculem 214
Ex Quercubus ac Saxis nati 189
Extra Lutum Pedes habes — — • — 57
Extra Telorum Jactum — • — 81
Extra Scopum jaculare 224
Extremis Digitis attingere — • 215
Ex Umbra in Solem — 57
Ex uno omnia specta — 57
FABARUV Arrosor vol. ii. 169
Facile quum valemus, recta Consilia .ZEgrotis damns 138
Facilius sit Nili Capnt invenire vol. ii. 219
Fama; laboranti non facile succurritur — 176
Fames et Mora BHem in Nastim copciunt vol. ii. 46
Q 2 Felix
23* INDRX.
Page
Felix Corinthus, at ego sim Teneates — vol. ii. 144
Fenestram vel Januam aperire 83
Fervet olla, vivit Amicitia — 111
Festina, lente — 244
Festucum ex alterius Oculo ejiccre — 144
Ficum cupit 274
Ficos dividere 243
Ficus Ficus, Ligonem Ligonem vocat 275
Fidelius rident Tuguria 77
Figulus Figulo invidet 44
Flamma Fumo est proxima • — — 97
Flet victus, Victor interiit vol. ii. 131
Fluvius cum Mari certas — — — 213
Fcenum habet in Cornu — 33
Koines ipsi sitiunt — 167
Fortes Fortuna adjuvat — — — 46
Fortuna nimium quern favet, Stultum facit 76
Fortuna obesse nulli contents est semel vol. ii. 1 14
Frigidam Aquam effundere 228
Frons Occipitio prior 42
Front! nulla Fides 260
Frustra habet qui non utitur vol. ii. 45
Frustra Herculi — vol. ii. 35
Fucum facere — — 121
Fuere quondam Milesii vol. ii. 197
Fuimus Troes — — 202
Funem abrumpere nimium tendendo — 127
Furari Litoris Arenas vol. ii. 50
Furemque Fur cognoscit — 287
Galhis
INDEX. 233
Page
Callus in suo Sterquilinio plurimum valet vol. ii. 159
Gall-urn habeas Amicum non Vicinum vol. ii. 179
Gutta Fortunae prae Dolio Sapientiae 129
Gutta cavit Lapidem — 65
HABET vol. ii. 119
Habet et Musca Splenam — vol. ii. 93
Harena sine Calce 2So
Ilarenae mandas Semina — 90
Hie Funis nihil attraxit 200
Hinc illae Lachryma? 26"4
Hirundinem sub eodem Tecto ne habeas 14
Hodie nihil succedit vol. ii. 1?0
Homines frugi omnia recte faciunt — 269
Homo est Bulla — 2STI
Homo longus raro sapiens — 56
IGNAVIS semper Feriae sunt vol.ii. 29
Ignem ne Gladio fodito 8
Ignis, Mare, Mulier, tria Mala 264
Illotis Pedibus ingredi 203
Jmi Subsellii Viri vol. ii. 109
Incidis in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim — 95
Indignus qui illi Matellam porrigat — 132
Injuriae spretae exolescunt — SO
Inexplebile Dolium — 224
Incudi reddere — 131
Inimicus et invidus VicinorumOculus vol.ii. 96
In Acre piscari — vol. ii. 53
Insanus, medio Flumine queeris Aquara 212
Q 3 Illj
234 INDEX.
Page
Illi Mors gravis incubat, qui notus nimis omnibus
ignotus moritur sibi — — vol. ii. 84
In Annulum, Dei Figuram ne gestato — 15
In Aqua vel in Saxis Sementem facis — ^ 90
In caducum Parietem inclinare — vol. ii. 37
In Coelum jaculare vol.ii. 69
In eburna Vagina plumbeus Gladius 162
Inest et Formicas sua Bilis vol. ii. 93
In Flammam ne Manum injicito vol. ii. 98
In Herba esse — — 272
In Laqueos Lupus • — 166
In Mare venari — vol. ii. 53
In Mari Aquam quasris 212
In Nocte Consilium — — — 258
In Portu navigare 24
In Quudrum redigere — 217
In Re mala, Animo si bono utare, adjuvat vol. ii. 96
In se descendere — — 143
In sola Sparta expedit senescere vol. ii. 145
In Sylvam Ligna ferre — — l6S
In Saltu uno duos Apros capere — - vol. ii. 101
Inter indoctos etiam Corydus sonat — 273
Inter Malleum et Incudem 16
IntraTelorum Jactum — <• 82
Intra tuam Pelliculam te confine 145
In tuo Regno es — — 166
In Vado esse 24
In Vino Veritas — 156'
In vita Minerva — — 20
In utramvis dormire Aurem 175
Ipse
INDEX. 235
Page
Ipse semet canit — vol. ii. 27
Iracundior Adria - — 220
Ira brevis Furor — — • — 154
Ira omnium tardissime senescit — • — 154
Irritare Crabrones — 26
JACTANTIUS raoerent qui minus dolent vol.ii. 158
Jejunus raro Stomachus vulgaria temnit, vol. ii. 183
Jungere Vulpes, aut mulgere llircum — 110
Juxta Fluvium Puteum ibdit vol.ii. 48
Brachio — 37
Laterem lavas — .91
Latet Anguis in Ilerba 87
Latum Unguem — 110
Laudatur et alget vol.ii. 176
Laureum Baculum gesto —
Leberide caecior — 74
Lentiscum mandere 179
Leonem stimulas 27
Leonem ex Unguibus estimare 214
Leonem Larva terres 133
Leporis Vitam vivit TO!, ii. 155
Lingua Amicus — vol. ii. 77
Lingua bellare — vol. ii. 56
Lingua non redarguta vol. ii. 78
Lingua, quo vadis ? 257
Li tern parit Lis, Noxa item Noxam parit 195
Lucri bonus est Odor ex Re qualibet vol. ii. 104
Lucrum malum aequale Dispendio — vol. ii. 97
Q 4 Lucrum
236' INDEX.
Page
Lucrum Pudori praestat vol. ii. 105
Lumen Soli mutuum das — ]68
Lupi ilium priores viderunt — 1/3
Lupus Pilum mutat non Mentem vol. ii. 42
Luscus Convitia jacit in caecum — — 274
Lyd i us Lapis, si ve Heracli us Lapis •*- — 130
MAGIS gaudet quam qui Senectam exuit vol. ii. 108
Magis magni Clerici, non sunt magis Sapientes 165
Magister Artis, Ingeniique Largitor Venter — 99
Magistratum gerens, audi et juste et injustk vol. ii. 165
Magistratus Virum indicat — •*•- 339
Magis mutus quam Pisces — — 115
Mala ultro adsunt — — vol. ii. 144
Male parta, male dilabuntur — — 171
Malis mala succedunt — — vol. ii. 114
Malo accepto, Stultus sapit -^ *— - 18
Malo Nodo malus quzerendus Cuneus — 36
Malum Consilium Consultori pessimum vol.ii. 87
Malum bene conditum ne moveris — • — 27
Malum Munus — — — vol. ii. .149
Malum Vas non frangitur — vol.ii. 147
Mandrabuli More Res succedit — -^51
Manibus Pedibusque • — — -^- 84t
Manliana Imperia — —*• «*— 240
Manum non verterira — — 67
Manum de Tabula — -*— 102
Manus Manum fricat -r- ]9
Massiliam naviges -— vol. ii. 199
Mature fias senex, si diu velis esse senex 52
MaturaSatio sacpe decipit, sera semper mala est 206
INDEX. 237
Page
Meclice, cura te ipsum vol. ii. 214
Mendacem memorem esse oportet' — vol. ii. 1
Mendico ne Parentes quidem Amici sunt vol. ii. 136
Messe tenus propria vivere 100
Merx ultronea putet — — — 201
Alinutula Pluvia Imbrem parit — — 64
Minuit Prassentia Famam — — vol. ii. 124
Mitte in Aquam, hoc est aufer e medio vol. ii. 212
Molli Brachio — — 37
Mons cum Monte non miscebitur — - — 45
Mordere Labrum — — vol. ii. 108
Mors omnibus communis — — vol. ii. 140
Mortui non mordent — — vol. ii. 210
Mortutnn flagellas — — — 106
Mortuus per Somnum vacabis Curis — vol. ii. 118
Mulier turn bene olet, ubi nihil olet — vol. ii. 73
Multa novit Vulpes, sed Felis unum magnum — 112
Multa cadunt inter Calicem supremaque Labra 94
Multas Amicitias Silentium diremit — — 249
Multa; Manus Onus levius reddunt — vol. ii. 9
Multae Regum Aures atque Oculi — — 35
Multis Ictibus dejicitur Quercus — — 186
Multos in summa Pericula misit
Venturi Timor ipse Mali — — vol. ii. 203
Munerum, Animus optimus est — vol. ii. 169
Muris in Morem — vol. ii. 100
Mustelam habes — — — — 55
NAM tuaRes agitur Paries cum proximus ardet vol. ii. 102
Naribus trahere — • — — — 251
Naturam
J38 IXDEX.
Page
Naturam expellas Furca, tamen usque recurret vol.ii. 42
Ne ad Au res quiclem scalpendas Ociom est — 277
Ne .iEsopum quidem trivit — vol.ii. 31
Ne cuivis Dextram injeceris 5
Nee quovis Ligno Mercurius fiat vol. ii. 24
Ne Gladium tollas Mulier vol. ii. 25
Ne gustaris quibus nigra est Cauda — 4
Ne Hercules quidem adversus duos 1 l6
Ne in Nervum erumpat — vol. ii. 36
Ne Jupiter quidem omnibus placet vol. ii. 143
Ne Malorum memineris — 254
Nee Oboluin habet unde Ilestim emat — 70
Ne prius Antidotum quam Venenum — vol. ii. 157
Ne quid nimis — 148
Ne Sus Minervam 19
Ne Sutor ultra Crepidam — 21
Ne Verba pro Farina — vol.ii. 29
Necessitas Magistra — vol. ii. 183
Neglectis uremia Filix innascitur Agris — vol. ii. 54
Nemini fidas nisi cum quo prius Modium Salis
absumpseris — • — 248
Nemo me impune lacessit 60
Nemo sibi nascitur vol. ii. 172
Neque Mel, neque Apes — 137
Neque natare, neque Literas — vol. ii. 32
Nequicquam sapit qui sibi non sapit — 136
Nervis omnibus — — 85
Nescis quid serus Vesper vehat — 152
Nil actum reputans, si quid superesset agendum,
vol. ii. 152
Nihil ad Fides — 118
NibiJ
INDEX. 239
Page
ad Versum — — • — 117
Nihil de Vitello — vol. ii. 153
Nimia Familiaritas parit Contemptum — 49
Nocte latent Menda? 171
Noctua inter Cornices — — 119
Noctua volavit — 29
Nocumentum Documentum 107
Noli Equi Denies inspicere donati vol. ii. 168
Non attingere Scopum — — 224
Non bene imperat, nisi qui paruerit Imperio -— 15
Non cuivis Homini contingit adire Corinthum — 82
Non esse Cupidum Pecunia est, non esse emacera
Vectigal — 77
Non est e Terris mollis ad Astra Via • — 247
Non estejusdem et multa, et opportuna dicere — 6l
Non est miht cornea Fibra vol.ii. 33
Non est Rernedium adversus Sycophantse Morsum
vol. ii. 33, & 185
Non incedisper Ignem — vol.ii. 117
Non omnes possumus omnia vol. ii. 6l
Non omnis fert omnia Tellus — vol. ii. 6l
Non progredi est regredi — vol.ii. 174
Non statim decernendum vol. ii. 118
Non sunt Amici qui degunt procul 249
Non tarn Ovum Ovo simile 110
Non unquam tacuisse nocct — — vol. ii. 199
Non uti libet, sed uti licet, sic vivimus — 181
Nosce te ipsum — 146
Nosce Tempus — 169
Novacula in Cotem 17
Nuces
240 INDEX.
Page
Nuces relinquere — 108
Nulla Dies sine Linea — 84
Nullus illis Nasus est — — 141
Nullus sum — — 70
Num vobis tinniebant Aures — — vol. ii. l6
Nunc tuum Ferrum in Igni est — vol. ii. l6Q
OBTIU'DKRE Palpum — vol. m 100
Occasio facit Furein vol. ii. 75
Occultze Musices nullus Respectus — 172
Oculus dexter mihi salit -<— — — vol. ii. 16
Oderint modo metuant — vol.ii. 51
Ocli memorem Compotorem 225
OditCane pejus et Angue vol. ii. 52
Odium Vatinianum 275
CEstro percitus — — . vol.ii. 44
Oleo tranquilior — — 220
Oleum Camino addere — 37
Oleum et Operam perdere 105
OletLucernam — — 142 and 170
Olitorem odi qui radicitus Herbas excidat 'vol. ii. 103
Ollae Amicitia — 111
Omne ignotum pro magnifico est • 50
Omnes attrahens ut Magnes Lapis 164
Omnes sibi melius malunt quam alteri — 80
Omnia bonos Viros decent vol. ii. 53
Omnia idem Pulvis - l6l
Omnem movere Lapidem — 85
Omnium Horarum Homo 78
Opera Sylosontis ampla Regio — 242
Oportet
INDEX. 24rl
Page
Oportet Testudinis Carnes aut edere, aut non edere 229
Optimum aliena Insania frui 280
Optimum Condimentum Fames vol. ii. 43
Optimum non nasci 282
Optimum Obsonium para Senectuti vol. ii. 81
Orci Galeam habet vol. ii. 58
Ovem Lupo commisisti 83
PALINODIAM canere 204
Palpo percutere vol. ii. 120
Pannus lacer vol. ii. 8
Pariter Remum ducere vol. ii. 162
Par Pari referre vol. ii. 167
Parturiunt Montes, nascetur ridiculus Mus 198
Patriag Fumus Igni alieno luculentior 39
Paupertas Sapientiam sortita est 99
Pecunias obediunt omnia 75
Pennas incidere alicui 160
Percontatorem fugito, nam idem garrulus est 14-
Perdere Naulum • vol. ii. 233
Pergnccari vol. ii. 122
Per Ignem incedis vol. ii. 116
Pingere sub Gladio vol. ii. 155
Piscator ictus sapit — — 19
Pluris est unus ocufatus Testis, quara auriti decem
vol. ii. 36
Poeta nascitur non fit vol.ii. 188
Polypi Mentem obtine 34.
Post Festum venisti 203
Praemonitus prsemunitus 280
Praesens
£42 INDEX.
vol. ii.
qui
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
Page
J64
59
160
279
45
108
76
76
143
245
66'
250
50
121
140
113
11
52
16' I
20
0'
123
W9
65
107
127
19
Qui
Praestat habere acerbos inimicos, quam eos
Praestat invidiosum esse quam miserabilem
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
Principium Dimidium totius
Priusquam Callus iterum cecinerit
Prospectandum vetulo latrante Cane
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
Pulverem Oculis effundere
Qujfc dolent ea molestum est cbntingere
vol. ii.
opti-
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
vol. ii.
Quam quisque norit Artem, in hac se excrceat
Qui bene conjiciat, Yatem hunc pcrhibeto
Quicquid in Buccam, vel in Linguam vcncrit
Quid Coeco cum Speculo
Quid nisi victis Dolor
vol. ii.
IXDEX.
24$
Qui jacet in Terra, non liabet unde cadat vol. ii. 37
Qui Lucerna egent, infuiulunt Oleum vol.ii. 193
Qui nescit dissimulare, nescit regnare vol. ii. 150
Qui nimis p rope re, minus prospere --- 245
Qui non litigat Cselubs est vol. ii. 132
Qui Nucler.m esse vult, Nucem frangat oportet
vol. ii. 47
Qui vital Molam, vital Farinam - vol.ii. 79
Quarta Luna nati - 30
Quod alibi diminutum, exequatur alibi vol. ii. 6'l
Quod de quoque Viro et cui dicas, saepe cavcto vol. ii. 185
Quod in Corde sobrii, id in Lingua ebrii 156
Quod licet ingratum est, quod non licet acrius erit 2(>3
Quod non Opus est, Asse carum est vol. ii. l60
Quod procedere non potest recedit vol. ii. 174
Quod quis Culpa sua contraxit, majus malum vol. ii. 125
Quod supra nos, nihil ad nos 139
Quo seme! est imbuta recens servabit Odorein Testa
din - vol. ii. 14
Quoniam id fieri quod vis non potest,
Id velis quod possis -- vol. ii. 207
Quot Servi tot Hostes 273
RADIT usque ad Cutem vol.ii. .91
Rara Avis 250
Rebus iiv adversis facile est contemnere Mortem
vol.ii. 206
Red ire ad Nuces 309
RefricareCicatricem ; - 141
Refricare- Memoriam 141
Refii-
244 INDEX.
Pag*
Refutantis Laudem immodicam - vol. ii. 58
Rem Acu tetigisti - vol. ii. 18
Remis Velisque - - - 85
Reperire Rimam - vol. ii. 66
Reperit Deus Nocentem — — vol. ii. 54
Res in Cardine est - 16
Res indicabit 17
Rore vixit More Cicadas vol. ii. 159
etiam est Holitor valde opportuna loquutus 132
Saepe etiam Stultus fuit opportuna loquutus 133
Salem et Mensam ne praetereas — — - 134
Salem lingere - - vol.ii. 106
Sapientes portant Cornua in Pectore, Stulti in Fronte
vol.ii. 131
Sapientum octavus - - - " 188
Sat cito si sat ben£ - - 245 and vol. ii. 185
Satius estlnitiis mederi quam Fini 45-
Satius est recurrere quam currere male 21 1
Sat pulchra si sat bona - POP
Saxum volntum non obducitur Muscho vol. ii. 92
Scindere Glaeiem - vol. ri. Qft
Segnius Homines bona quam mala sentiunt -- 154
Semper tibi pendeat Hamus — - 20t
Senem juventus pigra Mendicum creat - • 52
Senis mutare Linguam — ; — 53
Septennis quum sit.nondum edidit Denies - 256
Sequitur \'er Ilyemem vol. ii, l6
Sera in Fundo Parcimonia 256
Sero Clypeum post Vulnera - 46
Sero
INDEX. 245
Page
Sero sapiunt Phryges •• 18
Serpens ni edat Serpentem, Draco non fiet vol. ii. 78
Si juxta claudum habites, subclaudicare disces 233
Simia Simla est, etiamsi aurea gestat Insignia 153
Simile gaudet Simili 43
Similes habent Labra Lectucas • • 231
Simul sorbere et flare, difficile est 271
Sincerum est nisi Vas, quodcunque infundis acescit
vol. ii. 15
Sine Cortice nalare 181
Sine Pennis volare haud facile est vol. ii. 99
Spartam nactus es, lianc orna vol. ii. 23
Spem Pretio emere • vol. ii. JO
Sponde, Noxa est praesto 149
Stultum est timere quod vitari non potest — — 280
Stultus qui, Patre occiso, Liberos relinquat • 229
Stultus semper incipit vivere vol.ii. 68
Stylum vert ere 123
Stia Munera mittit cum Hamo vol.ii. Ill
Suam quisquc Homo Rem meminit vol. ii. 20t
Sub Cultro liquit vol.ii. 6'0
Sub omni Lapide Scorpius dormit 86
Sublata Lucerna nihil interest inter Mulieres vol. ii. 72
Sum bonus et frugi 26'9
Summis Labris • 215
Summis Naribus olfacere 216'
Summum Jus, summa Injuria 221
Suo Jumento Malum accersere 2<j
Surdo Canis 92
Sustine et abstine — - — vol.ii. 40
vou II. u Suum
£46 INDEX.
Page
Suum cuique pulchrum 38
Suum cuique Decus Posteritas rependet 50
Sylosontis Chlamys 241
TACITUS pasci si posset vol. ii. 127
Talpa cascior 74
Tanquam Argivum Clypeura abstulerit, ita glo-
riatur vol. ii. 44
Tanquam meum Nomeu vol. ii. 211
Tanquam Suber vol. ii. 100
Tanquam Ungues Digitosque suos vol. ii. 18
Taurum toilet qui Vitulum sustulerit 48
Te cum habita 145
Te ipsum non alens, Canes alis vol. ii. 27
Tempus edax Rerum vol. ii. 14
Tempus omnia revelat vol. ii. 13
Terram video vol. ii. 222
Tertius Cato 187
Testudineus Gradus vol. ii. 99
Thesaurus Carbones erant 198
Thus Aulicum • 69
Timidi Mater non flet vol. ii. 172
Timidi nunquam statuerunt Trophoeum vol. ii. 30
Timidus Plutus . vol. ii. 112
Tollenti Onus auxiliare, deponenti nequaquam 10
Toto Coelo errare 25
Toto Pec tore 85
Trochi in Morem « vol. ii. 171
Tua Res agitur Paries quum proximus ardet vol. ii. 102
Tuis te pingum Coloribus vol. ii. 151
Tunica
247
Page
Tunica Pallio propior est 81
Turdus ipse sibi malum cacat 25
Turpe silere • • vol. ii. 214-
Turtura loquacior 111
Tuum tibi narro Somnium vol. ii. 47
VEL casco appareat 189
Velocem tardus assequitur 169
Vclut Umbra sequi vol. ii. 107
Venter obesus non gignit Mentem subtilem vol. ii. 208
Ver Hyemem sequitur vol. ii. l6
Verbura Sapienti — — • vol. ii. 211
Verecundia inutilis Viro egenti vol. ii. 39
Veritatis simplex est Oratio • — — 79
Veterem Injuriam ferendo, invitas novam 103
Viam qui nescit ad Mare — — 163
Vicistis Cochleam Tarditate vol. ii. 99
Vino vendibili suspensa Hedera nihil Opus vol. ii. 21
Virtutem etSapientiam vincunt Testudines 159
Virum improbum vel Mus mordeat 189
Vis unita fortior • 113
Vita Mortal! um brevis • vol. ii. 114
Volam Pedis ostendere vol. ii. 168
Vox et Preterea nihil vol. ii. 149
UBI Amici, ibi Opes 68
Ubi Mens plurima, ibi minima Fortuna 76
Ubi quis dblet ibi et Manum frequens habet — — 2o"2
Ubi tres Medici, duo Athei vol. ii. 202
Ultra Vires nihil aggrediendum — — vol. ii. 110
Ululas
24S INDEX.
Page
Ululas Athaenas portare 38
Urabram suam metuere 26 1
Una Domus non alit duos Canes 44
Una Hirundo non efficit Ver 174
Undarum in Ulnis vol. ii. 170
Unico Digitulo scalpit Caput 178
Ungentein pungit, pungentem Rusticus ungit vol. ii. 67
Unus Vir, nullus Vir • 117
Usque ad Aras Amicus vol. ii. 65
Usus est altera Natura vol. ii. 172
Ut Canis e Nilo 212
Ut Lupus Ovem amat vol. ii. l6S
Ut possumus, quando ut volumus non licet 181
Ut Sementem feceris, ita et metes 184
ZEN ox E moderator 243
ERRATA, VOL. II.
Page 31. 1. 7. for it is instruct, read it is to instruct.
60. 4. after the word said, a comma.
14. for hatchet, read hatches.
67. 4. for angit, read ungit.
71 . 14. for its, rtad Ins.
88. last line but one, for auspices, rtad aruspices.
London: Printed by C. Rowortli, BeU-vard, Temple-bar.
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